Villainous Quirk, Heroic Soul
by Megaman1549
Summary: The day Izuku manifested his quirk was the day his life became hell, all because everyone considered his quirk villainous. All he ever wanted to be was a hero, but everyone only treats home like he's a villain. So for 12 years he suffered before one event changed his life. Can his friends and loved ones help him overcome his trauma? Or is society going to break him?
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer I do not own My Hero Academia**

Prologue

It was a cool winter day in japan when the fire nation attacked. No. Wait. Wrong amazing show. In this one we find our main character riding a train on his way to what would be the day his future at a hero would be decided. The UA university entrance exams. The most prestigious hero University in all japan, heck maybe even the whole world.

Here on this train we find Izuku Aizawa browsing through his phone, trying to calm his nerves. Unfortunately there wasn't any recent hero news that he didn't already know about, so he was reading a list of top 10 villain schemes that changed the world in an ironic way. From a villain trying to melt the polar ice caps to flood the world, but fixing the hole in the ozone instead. To a villain trying to take over the United States, but instead getting a new and better judicial system in place.

Though his favorite one was number 3, a woman who is taught in high school in both Quirk ethics and History. The villain was named Plague. She was an American, and one of the first people in the world to develop a quirk. Her quirk allowed her to develop any disease she could desire, as long as she knew how it worked. Though because of quirk discrimination when they first started appearing, she hid the fact she had one quite well. So no one batted an eye when she started to study to become a microbiologist.

She was a very patient and intelligent women, she studied for years to make sure she could create the perfect disease so it would never be cured. Her goal? The eradication of man from Humanity. She believed men to be nothing but a plague themselves, and thus should be eradicated. She was damn clever on her application as well. Due to her intelligence, she gained prestige across the whole world in her field. She found cures to many diseases, including cancer and AID's.

No one knew that while she was traveling she was purposefully spreading 2 plagues. The first one was a cover, to make sure that if she was caught, no one would suspect that she also created and spread her main virus. This one was simple, and easily cured by other microbiologists, though it was in fact deadly, she was more focused on it be contagious.

The other one though, was a virus that latched on with the first and only effected men. The

Problem was, she was very patient. She knew for her goal to succeed, she wouldn't be able to live long enough to see it happen. She knew that if she made her quirk work to fast, it would be quickly discovered. While she made the quirk highly resistant to curing, it was impossible to make one incurable. It was also impossible to make it that no man could be resistant to it. Though as time would go on, it would do exactly as she wanted it to do. Which was once it infects a man, it made it difficult to produce sperm with the Y chromosome and eventually make it impossible, thus only able to produce daughters.

Eventually the early hero's discovered that the first plague would always start spreading in any country after she appeared. Since she didn't want her quirk to be discovered, she went in peacefully. What she didn't know was that doctors had discovered a way to tell if someone had a quirk or not, so she was forced to reveal what it did. Without a way to suppress quirks at the time, she was deemed too dangerous to let live, and was sentenced to an immediate death.

She didn't care though. She finished with her task.

After giving them the information on how to cure the obvious plague, so as she planned, they didn't suspect a second one. Everyone found it creepy how she smiled in the electric chair.

So as everyone's lives continued on as normal, it was quickly discovered how the male birth rate was declining. People first suspected it to be another oddity associated with the appearance of quirks, so nothing was done about it. That is until after 150 years since the day quirks appeared, male birthrate didn't go up. In fact now only 15% of humanity was male, with each generation having less and less.

Many believed it to be a good thing, and was just the next step of humanity. That is until geneticists revealed that if man was wipe out, the only option for humanity moving forward was cloning, and over time DNA would get so muddled that humanity would never survive long term. So to preserve humanity moving forward, most scientists and doctors started looking for the reason behind the decline.

After 5 years a doctor in Britain discovered the disease, and immediately spread the word. Every single specialist started working on a cure, after all they were down to 12%. Early on they were able to cure men who already had some resistance to the disease, but it took 15 years to find a more widespread cure. Due to the fact that there were many organizations attempting to stop the cure from being discovered, some even resorting to acts of terrorism. It was truly a dark time in human history.

Nowadays there are still men who cannot be cured for one reason or another. Thankfully enough of men were cured that they no longer faced extinction, so the race for the car has slowed down considerably. 30% of babies born nowadays are male.

Now you might be thinking the irony of the story is that she cured many widespread and deadly diseases, or that her plan would have wiped out all humanity, not just men.

Nope.

The irony in the story is that due to the dangers humanity faced, the whole world implemented several plans. One being that polyamory was no longer illegal in any country, and was no longer frowned upon as much. Another that they implemented a new profession until humanity until a full cure is found. It's called birthers. It's a job that can be done by both women, and cured men. While every family is given money from the government as incentive to give birth, birthers are those that either give birth to multiple children, or impregnate women multiple times. While a majority of birthers are men and women who love children, there are those who abuse the system to not work.

Why is this ironic? Well it's because according to Plague she was 'cheated on' and "men are nothing but a filthy, disgusting disease." But after the media found the man who 'cheated' he informed them all he did was ask about making their relationship polyamorous. He told her, that while he still loved her deeply, he also developed feelings for a man name Alex, and asked her if he could join the relationship with them. She apparently lost it and started calling him a pig and a cheater, despite him never doing anything with Alex.

While she became a villain because of her boyfriend wanting a polyamorous relationship. She made polyamory widespread and common place.

Izuku laughed as he continued to read the list. He wondered why he liked that one more than the others. 'Maybe because people would have seen my quirk as worse than they already do?' He thought.

Unfortunately, Izuku had a quirk that many considered villainous, even by his parents, and was put through a living hell for a vast majority of his life.

His quirk was called Incubus. It was extremely powerful. He was able to produce pure energy to enhance his physical capabilities or energy attacks. He was even able to manipulate space, including gravity, to a certain degree. So far he hasn't found a limit to how much power he could put behind his attacks, but they require a certain resource.

Female pheromones.

That's right, he has to gather female pheromones through skin contact to power his attacks. The more intimate the acts, the more pheromones he collects, and pheromones from multiple women makes his attacks even stronger. Though the women have to desire him, and he has to desire them in return.

What's that? Doesn't sound to bad you say? Well on it own it doesn't. But there is one power he has that doesn't require any resource. He calls it gaze of lust. Through eye contact he can activate it to force a woman to lust after him and desire him enough that they won't be able to resist him. He absolutely hates it, and absolutely refuses to it. That power is what caused his whole life to shatter and go through what he did.

Izuku was in deep thought, remembering all the pain he went through, when a light snore brought him out of his thought. He looked down at his lap with a light smile. No he wasn't smiling at his junk, he was smiling at the women using his lap as a pillow.

Mei Hatsume, inventor extraordinaire and Izuku's girlfriend of half a year. He can say without a doubt that he loves this girl with all of his heart. They met just over a year ago and that one event change the course of his whole life.

Izuku starts gently petting Hatsume, trying to avoid waking her. He notices a smile appear on her face as he does so. 'It still amazes me how different my life is now.' Thought Izuku. 'For her sake, I'm just glad I made it in time.'

As Izuku slowly started to drift off into sleep himself, not noticing a girl with brown hair in a bob cut looking up from her book smiling at the two of them. 'They are so adorable!'


	2. Chapter 1 Chance Encounters

Disclaimer I do not own My Hero Academia.

Chapter 1 A Chance is encounter

1 year and 1 month ago

Izuku was soaring through the skies with a smile on his face, enjoying the feeling of the wind blowing through his hair. Flying was easily his favorite things to do on patrol. He just feels so free from up here.

"IT'S HIM! IT'S HIM! HE LOOKS SO COOL!" Izuku hears from what sounds like a child. He looks down to see several people look up towards him and smile, and a little boy no older than 6 with a huge grin on his face waving both hands at him. He chuckled and waved back at the kid, and the kid looks so happy it looks like he made his day. At that moment he knew he was wrong, that is his favorite thing to do on patrol.

After years of hard work and training, he finally became the number one hero and named the symbol of peace, and has no plans to stop there. He will do everything in his power to make sure everyone is safe. That no one is left to suffer.

"HELP! PLEASE HELP ME!" Izuku heard a woman scream.

He immediately stopped and starts looking for the source. It didn't take him long to notice a blonde woman clutching her purse, with a man with long nails, that he could only assume were sharp, pointed directly at her throat. He didn't waste any time and rushed in.

"Don't make this any harder than it has to lady. Just give me the purse and I'll be on my way." Said the mugger menacingly.

"Have no fear!" The mugger heard, and instantly started sweating in fear. "Oh shit!" He yelled as he looked at the source, only to get punched in the face, breaking his nose.

"For I am here!" Said Izuku as he landed in front of the women. "Are you ok miss? Did he hurt you?"

"No, thank you so much!" Said the women, relieved and elated seeing the number one hero here to save her.

"No thanks necessary. I'm always happy to be there to help someone in need. Now I just need to take out the trash." He said as he faced the mugger who was just now getting to his feet.

"Damn you! I was just going to take her purse! Guess now I have to kill you first!" Screamed the mugger as he started charging at Izuku, with his hands ready to swipe at him.

Izuku charged at him as well to make sure the women wasn't caught in the the mugger goes to slide at Izuku with his right hand, Izuku catching it, his fingers between the muggers. The mugger instantly attempts to swipe at him with his left hand, only for the same thing to happen.

The mugger tries to get his hands back, but Izuku would even budge in the slightest. Izuku pull the muggers hands closer to his face and starts inspecting the claws. "Hm, I was right." Says Izuku with the smirk.

"Right about what?" Growled the mugger still trying to get his hands back.

"These are sharp. But only at the tip." Izuku in the blink of an eye slips his hands to cling to the claws. He then headbutts the mugger while simultaneously snapping the claws.

The mugger stumbles back holding onto his nose. It already hurt after the punch, but now it was absolutely throbbing. "Damn you, you bastard!" He screams as he raises his hands again, about to charge Izuku again only to notice his claws were gone.

"Looking for these?" Asks Izuku as he shows the claws he's holding in his hands.

The villain smirks. "Not gonna need them." He holds his hands up and the claws quickly grow back.

Izuku watches star filled eyed. "That is so cool!"

Both the mugger and the women look at him incredulously. "Should you really be complimenting the bad guy?" Asks the women.

Izuku looks back at her sheepishly. "Sorry. I'm a quirk nerd, and while it's simple, it's still really cool." He then looks back to the villain who's still looking at him like he's grown a second head. "It's just a shame he decided to use his quirk in such a way. *sigh* would have been a useful quirk as a hero."

That snaps the mugger out of his stupor, who shakes his head and regains his smirk. "Yeah well-being a hero is too much work. Just taking what I want is so much simpler." He says before charging again.

Izuku just starts dodging the villains attacks with relative easy without losing any ground. "No it's not easy, but I wouldn't want to do anything else."

"Dammit just shut up and die!" Screamed the mugger.

"I'm sorry, I can't do that. There are people who count on me, and I won't fail them." Said Izuku. He realizes he won't be able to talk this man down, so he's just going to have to force him down. He leaps back slightly, making the mugger believe he had the upper hand and lunge at him, both hands in the air about to swipe down. Just as Izuku knew he would. Izuku lifted his leg up and delivered a hard push kick straight into the muggers stomach.

The mugger was launched back a couple meters but managed to stay on his feet, though he was having difficulty keeping his lunch down. He didn't have any time to try to regain his barrings when he suddenly felt a sharp pain is several parts of his body, at which point he toppled to the ground. He looked down to discover several of his own claws embedded into his shoulders and legs. "You attacked me with my own claws?" He said weakly.

"Why not? They seemed pretty handy to me." He stayed with a smirk. "Now we con either continue this little dance, or you can surrender now and save yourself from further pain."

The mugger flares at him for a couple seconds before adopting a despondent look. He knew his chances were slim to none. He figured he could at least get a couple of hits on him, but Izuku remained completely unscathed. While he was lying on the ground with a broken nose, several of his own claws stuck in him, and probably a few damaged organs. He knew he was beat. "I surrender."

It took Izuku only a few seconds to pull out his capture tape and safely secure the mugger. At which the blond women slammed into him giving him a hug. "Thank you so much, You saved me."

Izuku have her a brilliant smile. "No need for thanks miss, I'm always happy to help."

"Of course there is. I don't know what would have happened if you didn't show up. At least let me give you a kiss as thank you." She says with half lidded eyes.

Izuku blushes and scratches the back of his embarrassed. "Well I guess that couldn't hurt. At least it would help me against the next situation."

The woman giggles. "Well then come here for your reward." The woman closed her eyes, and they both slowly start leaning into each other. He closed their eyes as they inch closer to each other, their lips about to meet...

* * *

*THUD*

Izuku was immediately jolted awake with pain in his stomach. Opening his eyes he saw a blurry vision of someone's feet in front of him. He knew they belonged to ms. Soka Chiaki, his foster mother. She was a 40+ year old women, with her bright red hair being her only distinct feature. She currently fosters 5 kids and has 2 of her own. Chiaki was known by everyone to be a fairly sweet women who cared for all the children in her home. Well. Except for him. Then again, no one was nice or cared about him. Based on the pain on his stomach, she kicked him to wake him up, and she didn't hold anything back. She never did.

"Wake up, damn it! Just because you're on break from school doesn't mean you can skip your chores!" She screamed at Izuku.

Based on that Izuku already knew it was 5:01 A.M. he was never allowed to sleep past 5, no matter how late he was awake to finish chores. Chiaki was an early enough riser to ensure he never did. "I'm sorry ms. Chiaki, I was up late cleaning. I'll be down shortly."

She kicked him again in the chest. Hard. "I don't want to hear your damn excuses, now get down and start making my breakfast!" She yelled before leaving back downstairs.

Izuku was feeling a good deal of pain, but it was nothing he hadn't experience before, and he knew if he took to long he would just receive more punishment. He learned how to deal with the pain long before he was placed here at the age of 12, while this place was still hell, the last foster home was worse.

He quickly got up off the floor and folded up the blanket that also acted as his bed and put it in the corner, hen he threw on his clean pair of clothes. On his way out he passes by a mirror that was recently stored here in the attic that he was forced to sleep in, (he prefers it over the basement at least.) and was met with a sight that he cannot stand.

Himself.

Ever since his quirk manifested he has been treated like a villain by anyone who knew it. Except by a couple people but that's a completely different story. Due to that he was treated poorly. A no matter how hard he tried, everyone he meets discovers it. It seems parents and teachers are quick to tell children about the future villain. Ever since he was put into this home he was beaten and barely even fed. It was Chiaki's way of making sure He couldn't do anything bad. Thanks to an ability of his quirk that his first foster home forced him to never deactivate his skin was flawless. It had no blemishes, bruises, or scars. Just as well, he hated seeing how he truly looked even more. Unfortunately it couldn't cover the lack of, well, everything. His cheeks were sunken in, if you lifted his shirt, his ribs were easily seen. He was simply skin and bone. It was because he was given just some stale bread for every meal, and barely enough to keep him going. Due to the lack on nutrition he only stood at 5'3(160 cm) and weighed a measly 79 lbs. (36 kg) Maybe the last home wasn't so bad, at least he was properly fed there.

Izuku shook the thoughts out of his head before he got lost in his anxiety. He quickly descended the ladder out of the attic/his sleeping area and made his way to the kitchen where Chiaki was reading the morning paper. "About damn time." She Said.

Izuku looked at the clock, it was only 5:05. It only took him a four minutes to get down here, but he knew that saying that would only cause him to get punished. "I'm sorry." He said as he quickly went to the fridge to get out the ingredients he needed for Chiaki's breakfast. This was probably his most hated part of the day. Sure the beatings were bad, but having to cook at least Chiaki's breakfast, if not everyone's, was absolute torture knowing he would just be given stale bread again.

He was thankful he was able to get past making breakfast and eating his bread in peace. Afterwards he had to clean up the kitchen and do a few other chores before he was forced to go to the grocery store. Another task he hated to do.

Chiaki handed his a list and some money. "Don't forget anything, and there better not be any change missing." She stated with a glare.

"Yes ma'am." He said quietly before putting on his sweatshirt and leaving as fast as possible. Along the way he was thinking about the dream he had. It was honestly a pleasant dream, but he wished he wouldn't have the kind where he's a hero. They were just a tease.

As far back as he could remember, a hero is all he's ever wanted to be. He can't even remember a time when he wanted to be anything else. Unfortunately with his quirk, he would be lucky to simply get a job at some rundown grocery store. Plus, with how poor of shape he's in he couldn't even do any training. He barely had the strength to do his chores, let alone the sheer amount of training required to be a hero.

"HELP!" That scream immediately broke him out of his thoughts. As adrenaline instantly started coursing through him, he ran to the alley he believed he heard the scream come from. He was immediately met with the sight of the 3 high school boys surrounding a girl with pink dreadlocks. One of the boys had their hand gripping over her mouth, and she looked absolutely terrified.

"Shut up bitch! You should be thanking us. After all, no other guy would ever take an interest in a freak like you. So be quiet, and let us have our fun." Said the guy holding her with a terrifying smile on his face as the other two chuckled darkly.

Even from his distance, Izuku could tell the girl was crying in fear. "Hey assholes, let her go!" Izuku yelled. All three of them immediately turned to newcomer.

"And why should we do that jackass?" Said the guy closest to him.

"Well because it's obvious the pretty lady at least has standards, and doesn't want to be with any of you ugly bastards. Now leave her alone." Said with a smirk. He honestly doesn't know where this cockiness was coming from, he knew he couldn't possibly beat these guys. But he had to do something until someone who could showed up.

All the guys sneered at him. The guy holding the girl merely made a gesture towards Izuku and the other two stepped forward. It was obvious the first guy was the leader. The other two both activated their quirks. One's fists turned to stone, while the other had what looks like a blade slide out of his wrist.

Izuku gulped nervously. Welp he was going to die here. Oh well, better dying trying to help someone, than to live his life constantly being view as a villain. Who knows, maybe all those hero fights he watched have taught him something. Immediately an idea popped into Izuku's head. He might not be able to beat them, but he beat they could beat each other. He immediately adopted a semblance of a martial art's stance, and taunted them towards him.

Both punks took the bait and charged Izuku. Izuku ducked under the stone fist aimed for his face and positioned his body to avoid the other punk's blade from sinking into his gut, but get his body hit with a haymaker. It hurt, but nothing he hasn't felt before. He grabbed onto the pink with the blades head and using his own momentum forced him to spin and in between Izuku and the punk with stone fists who was already throwing another punch that connected with his friends nose. "Shit sorry man!"

Izuku moved out of the way quickly as the blade punk stumbled back a bit holding his nose. "God damn it, watch where you are hitting. I think my nose is broken."

"Well I think it's an improvement. I mean you couldn't get any uglier." Taunted Izuku.

Both punks quickly glared at Izuku. " Oh you're dead." Says the blade punk. He quickly lunges at Izuku, blade now in each hand. His friend running to Izuku's side taking a few swings, but being cautious not to hit his friend.

Izuku was having a bit of déjà vu, this is similar to his dream earlier, only dealing with 2 guys instead of one. He just had to play it safe and make sure he doesn't get hit, while keeping an eye out for an opening. One eventually presented itself when the rock fist punk threw a sloppy right hook. Izuku quickly grabbed his arm, keeping the momentum going and forcing him into his friend. At which they both tumble to the ground. The blades teen grunting, but the rock fisted teen was screaming.

The screaming teen quickly rolled off his friend holding his shoulder. He shot a pained glare towards Izuku. "I will cave your skull in for that!" He yelled.

"You say that like you haven't already been trying. And doing a piss poor job at it to." Said Izuku smiling. 'I'm not doing half bad, maybe I can do this.' All of a sudden he heard the girl trying to yell something through the leaders hand. He started turning around, worried about the girls safety, only to notice a fireball strike his left arm. "AAAAHHHHH!" He screamed.

The leader prepared another fireball in his free hand, while keeping his grip firm on the girl who was trying to remove his hand from her mouth. "You guys are seriously pathetic. Can't even handle this weakling. Looks like I need to roast his ass myself." He stated unamused.

Izuku knew he made a mistake turning his back to the leader without knowing his quirk, and he unfortunately put himself in between the two punks and their leader. It was taking everything in him to stay standing, hell he's surprised he's even still moving at this point. He just couldn't let harm come to the girl, not while there's still breath left in his body.

"Ha you couldn't even toast bread with that weak ass flame, let alone roast me." Said Izuku with a pained smirk.

The leader looked furious at his statement. "What did you say bastard!? I'm going to make this hurt as much as possible now!" He yelled as he prepared to throw the fireball in his hand, only to be surprised find it disappear before he threw it.

Izuku's vision started to go blurry as he looked past the leader and notice a figure drop behind the leader. "Hey brat." Said the figure. The leader turned to look at the source of the voice.

* * *

5 minutes ago.

Shoka Aizawa was dead tired. Well. More than usual. During her shift she stopped 3 robberies, 4 drug deals, and a mugging. She was relieved her shift was over, only to come across 2 more muggings. She stopped them of course, but it was really putting a strain on her. Her eyes weren't only dry, they were hurting. She was sure if they could throb, they would be.

She was back on her way to her agency. ' They told me to relax during break, but nooooo, I had to take on some hero work.' She thought.

"HELP!" She heard someone scream. 'GOD DAMN IT! DID ALL THE FUCKING VILLAINS GET TOGETHER AND DECIDE TO STRIKE IN ONE NIGHT!?' She screamed in her head.

She was way too exhausted to just rush into the situation, and she swore she heard the voice come from a few allies in front of her. In an instant took to the rooftops and made her way to the alley that the commotion was coming from. As soon as she spotted people in an alleyway, she crouched down so to not get spotted, and pressed a button on a device in her pocket.

What she found was 3 boys surrounding a girl with one of them having his hand around her mouth. She looked terrified. They were also focused on a boy who came from the other end of the alley. "Well because it's obvious the pretty lady at least has standards, and doesn't want to be with any of you ugly bastards. Now leave her alone." She heard him say.

'God damn it, 3 punks and a vigilante, just what I needed.' She thought, but she couldn't help but smile at the kid's statement. 'I hate to do it, but it's best if I let them weaken each other and take care of the winner. But if things get out of hand, I'll jump in.' She strategized.

As she watched the fight unfold, she noticed a few things. The first is that the supposed vigilante looks deathly thin. So thin she found herself hoping it was an effect of his quirk. The second was that he wasn't throwing a single punch or kick, and he definitely wasn't using a quirk as far as she could tell. All he was doing was dodging and trying to keep himself between the two of them. After witnessing him make stone fist punch the kid with blades coming from his wrist, his strategy became obvious.

She couldn't help but smirk throughout the fight. Not only did she find the vigilante's remarks witty, she always appreciated someone using their heads in a fight, rather than just trying to power through it. She had to admit, the kid had talent. Though she couldn't help but worry about the kid still holding onto the young women. He hadn't taken his eyes off the fight the whole time.

After witnessing the vigilante push stone fist into his partner and hearing the scream, she was worried she might have a death on her hands, she sighed in relief when she saw it was just his shoulder. When this was all over she had to scold him for that. You had to be careful with opponents with sharp objects if you're going to use them to your advantage.

She blinked a couple time. Why was she so worried about the vigilante? Sure she didn't hate them, their hearts are usually in the right place. But letting them roam free could turn very dangerous for everyone involved. So why did she worry more about what happened to this one so much more?

She was immediately brought out of her thoughts when she heard another scream. It was the vigilante. His left arm seemed to have a small third degree burn, but the odd part was a good deal of his hoodie and shirt were completely charred. She saw a bright light coming from the leaders hands. He appeared to be hold fire. His friends were also getting to their feet. She had to act fast.

She quickly jumped down and started jumping from side to side so make the Landing safer. "Ha you couldn't even toast bread with that weak ass flame, let alone roast me." She heard the vigilante say. She smirked once more. 'That kid is either brave or stupid.' As she witnessed the leader ready to throw another fireball, she activated her quirk to cancel his out. She landed a couple feet behind him.

"Hey brat." She said.

The leader turned around. "Who the fu..." he started to say before Aizawa punched him in the face, causing the kid to let go of the girl as he started stumbling back. Without any delay she quickly wrapped him in her scarf and forced him towards her. She kneed him in the stomach and as soon as she set her foot behind her, she used her other leg to knee him in the chin. Once again as soon as she placed her foot she round house kicked him in the side of the head, sending him flying into the wall. She adopted a reflexive stance, she wasn't going to give the kid a chance to do anything.

As soon as she was sure the kid wasn't going to get back up, she turned her attention to the others. The pink haired girl was sitting where she was sitting where she was being held before, she still had tears streaming down her face, but she looked relieved. The vigilante also seemed to be relieved, but he looked like he was about to keel over any second now, while the two other brats looked ready to piss themselves.

"Oh thank god." Said the vigilante before his eyes drained of all color and fell to his side.

"OMG! Are you ok?!" Yelled the pink haired girl, as she quickly made her way to the vigilante. He didn't look to be breathing.

Aizawa knew she had to make this quick. She glared at the other 2 brats "who's next?" She said, ready to take them on.

Honestly she didn't anticipate what happened next. They both started to book it out of there. Years of training and experience though was on her side. She quickly launched her scarf at them wrapping them both up just before they made it around the corner, and she yanked them both back. As soon they landed on their bits she sent quick chops at their necks, going for the quick knock out.

She wasted no time wrapping the three up, so they couldn't escape, and quickly made her way to the other two. The pink haired girl was at his side with her hand above his mouth. "He's not breathing!" The girl said as Aizawa knelt at his other side, as she quickly put her ear to his chest.

Aizawa became increasingly worried. She brought her head up, and she knew she had a worried look on her face, because the girl looked even more scared. "His heart isn't beating." She said.


	3. Chapter 2 Pain of the Past

As soon as the words left Aizawa's mouth, she started performing CPR. She refused to let this boy die because of her mistake. She shouldn't have let him fight, but she did anyways, just because she was tired. "...28, 29, 30" she muttered out loud before she tilted his head back, pinched the bridge of nose, and blew 2 deep breaths into his mouth. After noticing he still wasn't breathing, she started chest compressions again. She looked at the pink hair girl quickly and noticed she was in a daze.

"This is all my fault. He came to save me. He died saving me." The girl was mumbling, eyes obviously not looking at anything.

"Hey!" Aizawa yelled trying to get the girl's attention. Thankfully it seemed to of work, though more tears started pouring out of her eyes. "He's not dead yet. Do you know CPR?" She asked, only for the girl to shake her head no. "Then go keep and eye out for police, paramedics, or other heroes!"

The girl quickly nodded and ran to one end of the alley. She witnessed the girl run to the other end of the alley right as she was giving two more breath. Fear started to rise further as she put her ear to his chest again, and she still couldn't find a heartbeat. "Come on kid, come back to us." She mumbles as she restarted chest compression.

Fortunately she heard the girl yelling, so she looked up and it looked like she was trying to get someone's attention. With any luck it's the paramedics, or at least a hero with an electric quirk. After finishing another set of chest compressions and breaths, she looked up and got her answer. She was relieved to see it was in fact the paramedics, who were already running up to them. "He's not breathing, and his heart stopped." Aizawa said quickly.

"Ok, we got it from here." Said the paramedic. "Get the defibrillators!" Aizawa stepped back reluctantly to allow the paramedics to do their job. She looked up and saw the pink haired girl watching as one paramedic cut of the kids shirt off, only to watch as her eyes went wide. She looked back down at the kid and was worried about what she saw. The kids stomach was sunken in, and his ribs were seen clear as day. Combined with the sunken cheeks and scrawny arms, she doubted that it was caused by his quirk. 'Does this kid have an eating disorder?' Thought Aizawa.

She was pulled from her thoughts as the paramedic yelled "Clear!"... He still wasn't moving. Looking back at the pink haired girl still staring, with clear worry in her eyes.

Aizawa walked over to her and put her hands on the girls shoulders, getting her attention. "Hey come on, you don't need to watch this." Aizawa tried to guide the girl away, but she refused to budge.

"No, he helped save me, and I'm not leaving until I know he's ok!" She screamed. Another "clear!" and jolt heard in the background, grabbing her attention.

Aizawa sighed. "What's your name?"

"It's... It's Mei." Said the girl directing her attention back to Aizawa. "Mei Hatsume."

"Well Hatsume, it's best we leave this to the professionals, you shouldn't..." Aizawa started.

"NO! He's dying because he came to save me! I need to make sure he's going to be ok!" Hatsume yelled.

"I understand you're worried but..."

"Clear!" *jolt*

"Sudden inhale* *coughing*" Izuku was in a daze, and felt like his body weighed a ton. "Ugh, what happened?"

Both Aizawa and Hatsume both slowly looked towards Izuku. Fresh tears rolling down Hatsume's face, while Aizawa used every ounce of her experience as a pro hero to keep from doing the same, instead just letting out a sigh of relief.

Hatsume's legs gave out from under her, making her fall on her knees and butt. She was absolutely exhausted. She had spent three days working with absolutely no sleep on more than one occasion, and that came nowhere near how she felt now.

Explosions, fires, gas leaks, she's faced them all and more, without so much as batting an eye. She knew she could handle it. But when three punks from her high school grabbed her, pulled her into an alley, and pretty much told her they were going to have their way with her, she froze.

It's not like she didn't know this kind of things happen, in fact, it's one of the reasons she was determined to because a famous inventor. To help protect hero's and civilians alike. But she never once thought something like this would happen to her.

'I guess no one does until it happens.' She thought. 'Maybe I should get certified to carry one of my babies with me for protection.'

"Hey... Hey!" Hatsume was so deep in thought she barely even noticed the voice, and the feeling of someone shaking her. As she came out of her daze she noticed it was a paramedic, with the hero behind him looking worried, but not directed at her, and a cop on his other side looking at her. 'When did the police show up?' She thought.

"Hey, are you alright? Did you get hurt anywhere?" Said the paramedic, bringing her attention back to him.

"Huh?... oh um, nothing major, but my head does hurt." She said before looking to where she last saw the guy who helped her, only to find he wasn't there. "Hey where is the guy who just on the ground." She asked looking around.

"He is being loaded into the ambulance now, but we need to get you checked out." Said the paramedic gently.

She wanted to argue and go to the hospital with him, but she decided to visit him later. "O-ok." Said Hatsume, standing up hugging herself, letting the paramedic guide her to the back of an empty ambulance. Looking around, she noticed the boy who helped her was having his stretcher being secured. It didn't take long, as they shut the door right after and took off. The guy who was holding her in place during the whole event was still out cold, and both his arms handcuffed to a stretcher. The two goons were getting patched up in the back of another ambulance, also wearing handcuffs, each with 2 police officers guarding them. She was thankful quirk suppressing handcuffs were commonplace nowadays.

As she was sat down the paramedic quickly went to work looking her over, going over the normal routine. As he was doing that, a policewoman walked over. "Hey sweetie, I'm officer Taro, how are you holding up?" She asked, giving her a kind and concerned smile.

"I'm... I'm ok I guess. Is the guy who helped me going to be ok?" Asked Hatsume. She wasn't an idiot, she knew anything could happen, and that it was completely possible for his heart to stop again. She just needed reassurance, she needed someone to tell her that her rescuer was going to be fine.

Unfortunately that slight drop in the policewoman's smile wasn't lost on her. "The doctors will do everything they can. Let's just focus on you right now, ok?"

Mei nodded her head slightly. "Ok." She said somberly.

"You think you're up to telling us what happened?"

"Yeah, I guess." The policewomen immediately pulled out her notepad and pen, with the paramedic listening in to get a better assessment. Mei started telling them she was on her way to her grandpa's shop, mentally designing a blueprint along the way. How she was so lost in thought she didn't notice the three punks sneak up on her, grab her, pull her into the alley, and slammed her against the wall. She instantly recognized them as troublemakers from her school. The kind that you give a wide berth. After they had told her what they were going to do to her, she became terrified that they might kill her as well. So she screamed for help. The leader immediately put his hand over her mouth, making her slam her head against the wall again. Not long after the sickly guy showed up to save her. "What's his name anyways? I want to thank him personally."

"You mean you don't know him?" Asked the policewoman. Mei simply shook her head no. "Well I'll make sure you get his name and which hospital he'll be in as soon as I can." She said with a small smile. After she gave her a quick nod of acknowledgment, she continued giving her statement on what happened.

Not to far away Aizawa was listening in on Mei's statement. 'So it seems like they didn't know each other.' Aizawa thought.

* * *

A Few minutes ago.

Aizawa was trying to convince Mei to leave the scene, she didn't need to see what could easily become a declaration of the kids' death. Honestly, she didn't want to see it either. "I understand you're scared but..."

"Sudden inhale* *coughing*" Izuku was in a daze, and felt like his body weighed a ton pounds. "Ugh, what happened?"

Aizawa's eyes went wide. Slowly she turned around to look at the kid on the ground looking like he was in a daze. Sighing in relief she noticed Mei fell to the ground, she seemed to be completely out of it, she'll leave her be for now.

"Do you not remember what happened?" Asked Aizawa as another paramedic came over with a stretcher, and they started preparing to put him on it.

"I remember I was on my way to the grocery store. All of a sudden I heard someone yell. Wait! Is the girl ok?!" As Izuku trying to look towards Aizawa as the paramedics kept his head in place.

"Don't move! We don't know if you have any spinal damage. So stay still." Ordered the paramedic.

"She's fine. Just out of it right now." She says trying to calm him down.

"*sigh* Thank god." Says Izuku, relaxing considerably.

"Tell me kid. Why did you get involved. You could have, SHOULD have, left it to a hero." Said Aizawa.

Izuku adorned a completely serious face. "Because she needed help. I couldn't, and wouldn't, abandon someone in trouble."

Aizawa was honestly stunned by his answer. She had heard those words hundreds of times from pro hero's, and very rarely did they ever sound genuine. After all, a vast majority of hero's nowadays are only in it for fame, fortune, or the thrill of battle. Usually some combination of the three. The way the kid sounded it was like it was a completely natural answer. His words left no room for doubt. She wished she could get her students to have that kind of mentality. Only without the recklessness.

She stood there in silence as she watched the paramedics were asking him basic questions while they loaded him onto a stretcher. It wasn't until they were starting to wheel him away that she heard them ask his name.

"Izuku Midoriya."

For some reason she feels like she's heard that name somewhere before. It almost triggers a protective instinct in her. The kind akin to those who she knows have suffered a great deal at the hands of a villain. She just can't place where she's heard the name before.

After a couple minutes of trying to remember, she decided that maybe it would be best to check up on Hatsume. She might be able to get an answer as to whom he is from her.

* * *

Aizawa was listening as Hatsume give the last of her statement when a detective walks up to her. "God this is what, the fifth incident you've taken care of this morning? You just can't catch a break can you?" Said the detective with a smile.

Aizawa scratched the back of her heard. "Yeah well there were a few others I dealt with before your shift even started. *sigh* I feel like I could sleep a week after all this."

The detective laughs. "You say that, but you never stay down to long. You're going to work yourself into an early grave at this rate".

"My co-workers tell me the same thing. It just isn't rational to sit around doing nothing when I can help." Said Aizawa.

The detective gave her a worried smile. "I know what you mean, but don't forget, you can't help anyone from inside a grave. There are plenty of other capable hero's out there, you don't have to do everything."

"And leave it to hero's who only want to be rich and famous? No, thank you. I'd rather as many people be saved as possible. Not left to die because some hero was getting their picture taken, or worried their face might get scratched." Said Aizawa sardonically.

The detective looked like she wanted to retort, but couldn't argue that statement. "*sigh* I can't say you're wrong. It's why I tend to prefer underground hero's on principle, I've met way to many heroes who love the camera way too much. At least we still have hero's like All Might."

Aizawa's eye twitched. "You mean the man that does more interviews in a year than most hero's have their whole career?"

"You have to admit, he never once left someone in danger, and most paparazzi live to follow him around. And I know you refuse to admit it, but those interviews do help make the people feel safe. It shows that despite his immense power, he's just a man who wants to help" Argues the detective.

"Tch." Was all Aizawa says in response.

"Anyways I'm going to need to get your official statement. Then you need to get some sleep."

"Tsukauchi, as much as I would love to, there are some things I need to take care of."

"Well I guess I can't force you. But try to take it easy please. So, what happened here." Tsukauchi said as she pulled out a notebook.

Before Aizawa could start talking, Hatsume walked up to the two of them. "Excuse me." She said, getting both of their attention. Hatsume looked straight at Aizawa. "I wanted to say thank you for rescuing me and that boy. I... I don't even want to think about how much worse things would have turned out if you hadn't shown up." She said, getting quiet, and looking towards the ground at the end.

Aizawa put a gentle hand on Hatsume's shoulder, grabbing her attention, giving her a gentle smile. "Well I'm glad I was here as well. There's no need to dwell on what could have happened."

Hatsume looked thoughtful for a moment. "You're right. I just wish there was more I could do for the guy who helped."

"Don't worry about him. Guys like him are difficult to keep down."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm talking about the kind of person who fights for others."

Hatsume just looked confused. "Isn't that hero's in general?"

Aizawa shook her head. "No, I'm talking about the kind of person who puts others before themselves. After he remembered what was going on, did you hear what he said?"

"No, I was kinda out of it." Hatsume admitted a bit solemnly.

Aizawa gave her a reassuring smile. "First thing he said was 'Is the girl ok?'". Hatsume looked at Aizawa shocked. "Despite everything, you were the first thing he thought about." Hatsume couldn't help but blush, which wasn't lost on Tsukauchi and Aizawa. "So I heard you ask for his name earlier?"

"Yes!" Yelled Hatsume as she got in Aizawa's face. "Please tell me you know it! I need to thank him!"

Aizawa gently pushed Hatsume out of her personal space. "Yes I do. It's Izuku Midoriya."

Mei gave Aizawa a huge smile. "Thank you so much!" Mei ran off to the ambulance and hopped in the back. Looks like she's being taken to the hospital for further inspection.

"Ok let's get this over with." Said Aizawa as she turned towards Tsukauchi, only to be met with her being completely stunned.

"Did you say Izuku Midoriya?" Asked Tsukauchi, still in shock.

"Yeah I did. Why?" Asked Aizawa.

Tsukauchi seemingly ignored the question. "How is he doing? Well besides this event, is he holding up alright?" She asked looking extremely worried. Causing Aizawa's worry to grow.

"Honestly, he looked to be in horrible shape. How do you know him?"

Tsukauchi just looked like he was drowning in worry. "Sorry Eraser, But I need to get to the hospital now! One of the officers will collect your statement." With that Tsukauchi left before Aizawa could stop him.

'What the heck is going on?' Thought Aizawa. She had already planned on checking up on the kid in the hospital. Now, she felt she couldn't waste any more time than necessary. She just needed to give her statement and get her paperwork done at the agency. By then she hoped the doctors will be done working on the kid.

To say Aizawa hates paperwork would be an absolute understatement. She understood it to be a necessary part of the system, doesn't mean she likes having to file a report for every crime she takes care of. And when you stop 11 crimes, and perform CPR on someone, the paperwork feels like it drags on forever.

In reality, it took her a couple of hours. Two. Grueling. Hours. Add on giving her statement, checking in with her agency, and travel time, it took her about 3 hours to finally get to the hospital. She desperately wanted to find a bed and just pass out, but she couldn't just ignore what's going on. Something was going on with that kid, and she was going to find out. She honestly didn't know what was drawing her to find out, she could easily leave it to Tsukauchi, but seeing that kid in the state he was in, she refused not to see this to the end. Whatever that may be.

As she turned the corner to the hallway Izuku's room was in, Aizawa could hear Tsukauchi's voice.

"Are you absolutely sure?" Tsukauchi Said downtrodden.

"There isn't a doubt in my mind. The poor child. He'd already been through so much last time. Now this. It breaks my heart." Aizawa heard from a familiar voice.

Aizawa turned the corner and is surprised to see Tsukauchi talking with "Recovery Girl? What are you doing here?"

Tsukauchi and Recovery Girl both turn to look at the newcomer. Aizawa could feel the somber mood in the air.

"You're not the only one who puts in extra work outside UA. Now I could ask you the same question." Says Recovery Girl.

"I'm here to check up on Izuku, as well as confirm my suspicions."

Tsukauchi and Recovery Girl look at each other and sigh.

"With how fast you were able to pick it up, makes me worry about how many others have noticed, and never did anything." Said a Tsukauchi solemnly.

"It's been what, three years now? It's highly unlikely that no one noticed, not with the condition he's in." States Recovery Girl.

Aizawa crosses her arms. "So I was right, something is happening. And what are you talking about? Three years since what?"

"Eraser I think it's best if you leave the rest to us. This isn't just a typical injured kid case." Says Tsukauchi, trying to dissuade Aizawa.

Aizawa could tell that this wasn't a subject either wanted to talk about. "I figured that when I had to Perform CPR on a kid who looked like he hasn't eaten in months. Now I'm here to help, and I'm going to do that with or without your help. So you can make this simple for me and just tell me what you know." She states firmly.

The two remained silent, she doubted she would get answers from these two. She looked at Izuku's room which was just behind Recovery girl. She walked past them to the door, ignoring their warning as she flung it open. Only to exit again two seconds later, shutting the door faster than when she opened it. She leaned against the door, thinking about what she just saw. Izuku was asleep with the usual machines hooked to a heart monitor, a breathing mask on his face and an IV in his arm. But what truly horrified her was the parts he had exposed. He was mostly cover, all except his arms and head. Just thinking about it made her feel sick. "What in the hell. I know for a fact he didn't look like that when he was brought here."

At this point Tsukauchi and Recovery girl knew there wasn't any point in hiding it. "It's better if we have this talk in private. The hospital has lent me a temporary office we'll talk there."

On their way to the office, Recovery girl make a quick call to the records room and asked for them to deliver Izuku's file. In the office Tsukauchi and Aizawa sat down in front of the desk. Recovery girl offered them some coffee, with only Aizawa accepting.

"So you two going to explain what I saw?" Asked Aizawa between gulps of coffee, trying to drown shock of what she saw. It was barely helping.

"Tell me Eraser, do you remember the Ukon Murisaki case?" Asked Tsukauchi.

"Of course I remember it. Not only is it taught on both hero schools and police academies, Ukon Murisaki is almost a household name. It honestly sickens me how many people still believe he's innocent, and how long his lawyer is kept his execution postponed. The amount of evidence against him makes his guilt obvious. Why? What does that have to do with..." Aizawa trailed off. The room was so silent you could hear a pin drop. "No, you don't mean?..."

"That's right." States Tsukauchi. "Izuku is the survivor of that sick bastard."

Aizawa could barely process it. Izuku was the survivor? "Doesn't explain why He didn't look like THAT earlier. I've heard about the things that monster did, I even helped with some of the stings to catch his associates. But there was no evidence of it happening on Izuku." Argued Aizawa.

"That's because of his quirk." Replied Recovery girl. "I believe he calls it, Flawless complexion. Aside from cuts and severe injuries, his skin is always perfect. It hides blemishes, bruises, discoloration... and scars."

"Then why didn't it deactivate when he was unconscious. Hell he was dying and nothing changed."

"He has to decide when it's deactivate it, and since there was no brain death, nothing changed."

Aizawa downed the last of her coffee, and got up to refill her cup. "And based on his condition, the new foster home isn't much better."

"No." Replied Recovery Girl. "I've been working his case since he got here. One of the first things I found weird was I discovered a third degree burn about 1 in. In diameter."

"Yeah, he was a hit by a fire quirk. How is that weird?" Asked Aizawa.

"That wasn't the weird part. It was that there was no second degree burns. It took me a bit, but once I found out his ability, I had to get him to deactivate it. Which wasn't easy, I might add. Getting over the shock of what I saw was even harder." Recovery girl says solemnly. "We discovered about 40% of his body is badly bruised. After having some x-rays done, we discovered Multiple broken ribs, which I would normally assume to be the CPR you administered. Though based on the fact that his comparisons to his old x-rays from being looked after the last case, he has received multiple new broken bones in his ribs and hands. Most of which healed improperly, which will require surgery or else it could become an issue. Then there is the obvious malnutrition. He only weighs 79 lbs. giving him a BMI of on 14.0, which is dangerously low. Which is most likely why his heart gave out. His body didn't have the proper fuel to even function, let alone fight. So with that I think it's safe to assume... To assume that he is being abused."

The three of them sat there in silence, as those words lingered in the air. Child abuse is never an easy thing to swallow, and to know that this kid has pretty much been tortured and abused almost his whole life. Well it made the three of them feel sick to their stomachs.

None of them knew how long that sat there in silence. They probably would have for longer if a knock on the door wasn't heard. "Come in." Said Recover Girl, barely loud enough to be heard through the door.

A nurse walked in. "I brought the file you requested." She says as she walked over to Recovery Girl and handed her a folder that was just over a finger thick. A folder that felt like it weighed a million pounds to her. The nurse stood there in front of the desk looking like she was debating on asking a question.

"Is there something I can help you with dearie?"

"Well, I have a question. Is the boy in that folder a villain?" Asked the nurse.

All eyes were immediately on her, giving her a questioning look."Why would you think that?" Asked Recovery Girl.

"Well I'm the one who called his guardian earlier. The moment I told her he was in the hospital she replied 'so he finally did it huh?' When I asked her did what? She said, word for word 'well forced himself on a girl of course, it's how he gains power. I've done everything I can to make sure he couldn't hurt someone and get away with it, but that brat was always destined to be a villain.' I wrote it off because I heard a rumor that he was defending someone. That was until I saw what his quirk was." The nurse said, getting somber at towards the end.

'What does his quirk have to do with being a villain?' Thought Aizawa. "I can assure you, that the rumor is true." She said, gaining the nurses' attention. "He stood up AGAINST three attempted rapist to DEFEND a girl. I witnessed it myself."

The nurse stated at Aizawa for a few seconds, seemingly looking for any sign of her lying. When she found none she gave a firm nod and left the room.

After the door clicked shut. "Well it seems we have the motive." Said Tsukauchi.

"And how is making yourself looking better a 'villainous Quirk'" Said Aizawa.

"That's only a part of his quirk." Begins Recovery Girl. "It's most likely just a way to help him be seen as more attractive."

"Why would he need to be more attractive?" Asks Aizawa completely lost.

Recovery Girl merely hands her Izuku's folder. "It'd be easier for you to read his quirk than for me to explain it."

Grabbing the folder, she quickly flipped to the quirk portion, and was shocked by what she found. "Energy based attacks, and the ability to grow large bat wings powered by female pheromones? The power to force someone to desire him?" She mumbled. "What's this about a missed quirk test?"

"Quirks That are sexual in nature require that they be tested at the age 18, but are also given the option to test it at 13 as well. Since it's not only inappropriate for a child to use them making their full extent completely unknown, they are also the most likely to further evolve as they mature." Replied Recovery Girl.

Aizawa gave a quick nod as she continued to look through the folder. She was going to find out as much as she could, so she could help him. Barely even halfway through it, she couldn't take it anymore and hurled in the nearby trash can. She had been a hero for 9 years now. She's help with natural disasters, stopped human and drug trafficking rings, rescued hostages and torture villains. But she had never seen anything that horrific. And that was just the medical report.

When she was done she noticed Recovery girl next to her holding her hair for her and extending a cup of water to her. "Thanks." She took the water and stood up, after rinsing out her mouth a couple of times she looked at the two. "I knew it was bad, but that. That is horrifying."

"Like I Said. I still have nightmares about the case. I did everything I could to make sure he got out of that situation. I even helped get him into the best home I thought would take care of him. Help him heal." Said tsukauchi. She squeezed the arm of her chair hard enough the others wouldn't be surprised if it broke. "Instead all I did was take him from one hell to another." She said looking like she had tears stinging her eyes. Before they could fall she felt a hand on her shoulder, and looked up to see it was Aizawa.

"None of this is your fault, I'm sure you did everything you could. There is no doubt in my mind that you checked into his foster mother thoroughly. You had no way of knowing what would happen." Said Aizawa comfortingly.

"That's exactly why I should have done more!" Shouts Tsukauchi. "Murisaki was pretty much considered a saint! Hell he even had a park named after him! That's why I should have constantly checked up on him! I should have made sure he was safe!"

Aizawa wasn't even dazed by Tsukauchi's rant. "Tsukauchi, you can blame yourself over what happened all you want, but that's not what matters here right. If you feel that strongly that you're at fault, then make it up to him. What happened, happened. All we can do now if pick up the pieces and do what we can to help now."

"She's right dearie." Said Recovery girl, drawing Tsukauchi's attention. "There is no changing the past. All we can do is give him a better future."

Tsukauchi lowered her head as she silently mulled over their words. She quickly wiped her eyes. "You're right. This isn't the time to dwell on it. I need to investigate his foster mother and get him into a good home, and keep an eye on him this time." She says with determination.

"Well about that." Says Aizawa gaining both women's attention. "I already have a home in mind."

"Really? That's great! Who are you thinking?" Says Tsukauchi enthusiastically.

"Mine." Aizawa says casually.

"...what!?" Tsukauchi and Recovery girl scream at the same time.

Aizawa winced at the volume. "And I though Mic was loud."

"Why do you want to take in Izuku?" Asked Recovery Girl.

"Well I'm actually thinking more along the lines of adopting him." She says stunning the other two. "He needs a good home, and the system has failed him twice already. So I'm going to take him."

"But you barely even know him." Says Tsukauchi.

"And so do most parents when they adopt a child."

"Yeah, but they're usually adopting children. Not teenagers nearing adulthood."

"So what? I'm more used to teenagers and young adults anyways. Do you think he doesn't deserve to be adopted just because he's a teenager?" Says Aizawa a little miffed.

"No! I'm just trying to understand your motivation." Says Tsukauchi.

"*sigh* I'm not going to force him back into a system that pretty much refuses to help him. Besides, I can tell he's a good kid with his head on right." Aizawa says with a small smile. "Unless you're wanting to adopt him."

Tsukauchi's mouth opened as if she was about to speak. But shut is as she mulled over what she says next. "I'm not gonna lie, it crossed my mind. But I've already tremendously failed him. During his case, I looked him right in the eyes and told him that I was going to help him, that he was going to be safe. He was already dealing with trust issues when it came to authority figures. But he believed me. He must hate me now. So I don't think I could help him as much as you can." She says solemnly.

"So then how do you plan on making it up to him?" Asked Aizawa.

"Well like I said, I'm going to take care of his foster mother. After that I'm going to visit often, even if he doesn't trust me or want me there. Just because you're a pro hero doesn't mean I'm just going to keep my eyes on you."

Aizawa smirked. "That's what I figured you'd say."

Recovery girl grabbed Izuku's fill and started heading to the door. "Well as much as I think it's a good idea, there is one person we need to check in with, and see if they like the idea." She says.

The others quickly catch on and nod in agreement. "We have a lot of work ahead of us." Says Aizawa as they leave the office.


	4. Chapter 3 Hope for the Future

Shoka Aizawa was 13 the day that she decided to become a hero. It started off as a normal Saturday. It was summer break and her family decided to go to the mall to get some shopping done and spend time together as a family. She was excited to spend the day with her parents and little brother. She had always loved her family.

Unfortunately this was also the day a heist was being held in at the bank in the mall. Her parents were withdrawing some cash to give to her and her brother for a little spending money, when 8 robbers burst through the doors. It didn't take them long to get everyone to comply after one of them shot the guard who was about to fight back. She would find out later that it was a coordinated attack on many banks across the city, this one was just to cause a distraction, so this wouldn't be a quick. There was a total of about 30 hostages, with 8 robbers holding them at gunpoint. They were determined to get as many heroes there as possible before they made their escape.

It was just bad luck that a new hero was looking to debut, and found this heist to be the perfect opportunity. The thing was though, he was oozing smugness. And his quirk? He could apply flames to his hands and feet. Not the worst quirk for a hero, but pretty limiting. Though Shoka would admit, that paired with his martial arts skills he used it fairly effectively.

Problem was his spacial awareness was horrible. The whole robbery business had attracted the vultures, AKA the press, that was nearby. The debuting hero calling himself Fire Fist was just eating it up. He started needlessly showing off, wasting time trying to make himself seem noble and caring. He even stopped and smiled at the camera several times.

At the time Shoka didn't care, as long as her and her family were going to be saved. But the universe had other plans. The hostages were escaping while Fire Fist was fighting. After he had seemingly knocked out the last of the robbers, he went straight back to the camera and started talking himself up again, while priming his hair for the camera. Because of this, he failed to notice one of the robbers getting back up.

The villain raised his hands and fired icicles at Fire Fist, who was standing between him and civilians. A civilian was able to warn him in time, though instead of deflecting the attack. He dodged them. Shoka felt as if the world was slowed after she saw the "hero" saving his own skin, and noticed the icicles heading for her brother. By instinct jumped in front of her brother back facing the icicles.

She had shut her eyes expecting to be struck by the attack. She heard several gasps. So she slowly opened her eyes. It turns out she got her protective instincts from her father, who had put himself in front of the attack. She stood there in shock as she looked up at the form of her father, standing tall, acting as a shield for his children. She also saw her mother, with her hands covering her mouth, looking at her father with absolute horror, tears streaming down her face.

Shoka was broken out of her stupor when her father fell forward, landing on the ground hard. She immediately rushed to him, about to turn him over when her mom grabbed hold of her pulling her away from him. Shoka struggled, trying to break free, screaming "we need to help him!" Her mother cried all the while, as her brother stood there in absolute shock.

It took awhile for her to calm down as the reality of the situation slowly crept in. He was already dead. He was most likely dead before he even hit the floor. She doesn't know what happened after that, all she could remember is crying until she passed out.

The next day was a mixture of her whole family crying and trying to console each other. The event was also shown on the news. They had just switched it on trying to find a distraction. They caught the end which was right when the last villain attacked. And it clearly showed the hero dodging the attack. To make matters worse, he checked over himself immediately after.

Shoka and her family was livid. Here was a wannabe hero, who's primary job is supposed to be protecting civilians, worry more about his own safety. And they lost their father/husband because of it. She wasn't asking him to lay down his own life, but he didn't even bother trying to stop the attack. Thankfully it seemed society agreed he wasn't a worthwhile hero. After that event and several others, he was essentially shunned as a hero, and was forced to hang up his cape after only a few months.

Shoka had always been appreciative towards hero's, and even been a fan of a few of them. But that changed immediately. She found them to be nothing more than glorified celebrities. So she decided to become a hero herself. One who would be there to protect others, not smile in front of a camera. They couldn't be trusted after all, and someone needed to make sure the job was done right. She did regain some of her respect for heroes when she learned about underground heroes.

Shoka accounts that day as one of the worst days of her life. She had always looked up to her dad. He was a simple white collar office worker, but he was a hero to her. He was always there for her, he would always attend her events, push her to do her best, and was there to pick her up whenever she was down, always seeming to know just what to say and do to make her feel better. It's not that she doesn't love her mother, she does with all of her heart, but her father went above and beyond.

She would always consider him her hero. Even more so years later when her family was sharing memories of him. Her mother told her and her brother that she would never forget the face he made that day. He looked ahead, with a serious expression, completely unflinching. Before it switched to a relieved look, like he knew he achieved what he set out to do.

She had never seen it, and could only imagine what that looked like. But the moment she saw Izuku's expression, she had no doubt in her mind that was exactly what her mother saw. No she didn't believe in reincarnation and didn't think that was her father reborn. But she was sure he had the same kind of heart. At that moment, she knew she had to protect this boy, the same way her father protected her.

Shoka was so lost in thought that she didn't notice she was passing Izuku's room until Tsukauchi stopped her. "Eraser, you just passed his room. Are you ok?" She asked concerned.

"Yeah... Yeah, was just lost in thought." Said Shoka, as she rubbed her eyes, to wipe the tears.

"You sure you want to do this today? He's going to be here for a while, and you really need the sleep."

"I'm doing this today. I'm not going to let him spend one more day believing he's going to stay in that hellhole, and in a system that has allowed him to suffer." Shoka said determined.

Tsukauchi just looked at her for a few seconds while Recovery Girl had waited patiently. "Come on dearies, we have a lot to go over with him. So we shouldn't keep him waiting." Said Recovery Girl, before she entered the room.

Shoka quickly followed while Tsukauchi sighed and did the same. She entered discovering Izuku already awake just staring at the ceiling, he had bandages wrapped around his torso and left arm, a heart monitor strapped to his chest, a breathing tube in his nose, and an IV in his arm. It also seemed his ability Flawless Complexion was active again. After a couple of seconds he sat up and looked towards the new people in the room. His eyes widened in surprise as he saw Tsukauchi enter, but quickly regained a neutral expression. Tsukauchi believes she knows why. She went over to stand near the end of his bed, while Shoka went to lean against the wall next to her, and Recovery Girl went straight to his bedside.

"Ah, I see you're awake. How are you feeling?" Asked Recovery Girl.

"Yeah, I was awoken by what sounded like a door slamming shut." Said Izuku. Shoka felt bad, knowing it was most likely her. "But I'm doing fine, thank you."

Recovery Girl grabbed the charts at the foot of his bed, giving it a quick look through. "Are you sure dearie? The pain meds you received when you got here should be out of your system by now, and it looks like you haven't had anything since." She said with concern.

Izuku looked down at his lap. "I'm sure. I'm already wasting enough supplies." He said with a sad empty tone.

The others worry grew considerably, while simultaneously hating his foster mother even more. It was easy to see that mentality came from her. They could only imagine what other things she put in his head.

"I can't force anything on you, but that burn you received earlier was pretty bad. Aside from the small third degree burn, most of your left side and part of your arm is covered in second degree burns. It's going to hurt until you can be healed." Said Recovery Girl trying to get him to reconsider.

"Why can't I be healed now? I know you're Recovery Girl."

"It's because my quirk uses up the stamina of the one being healed, and due to your current state it would be way too dangerous." She Replied.

"So how long will I be here?" He asked sounding worried.

"A few days at least. Because of your heart stopping, we will keep you under observation while we work on improving your physique. We will also be calling in a specialist to try to fix some of your bones that have healed improperly." She said motioning her cane to his right hand. Shoka and Tsukauchi gave a good look at his hand. They both clenched fists as they try to suppress their rage after noticing his hand is crooked.

" A few days?" Izuku asked no one in particular, with a hint of fear in his voice. He was worried about what Ms. Chiaki would due to him for missing his chores for a few days. She'd already proven in the past that she wouldn't tolerate any excuses from him. No matter how valid they may be.

"Midoriya." Said Tsukauchi gently, getting his attention. "There are a few things we need to go over with you."

Izuku nodded his head. "I'm guessing you want to get my statement, and maybe scold me for putting myself in danger?"

"Something more important than that." She said. Izuku looked at her confused. "We know about that your foster mother is abusing you."

Once again, Izuku's eyes shot open, but he quickly recovered and just turned his head away from Tsukauchi. "I don't know what you're talking about." He said quietly.

This surprised the Tsukauchi. Last time he was an open book. Why would he hide it this time?

"Midoriya, just look at yourself. Your current state alone is proof enough of neglect at the very least, we want to help you." Said Tsukauchi.

"You say that like everything will turn out all right. Like six other kids won't just be handed off to someone else. Given to someone who only god knows how they'll treat them." Rebuked Izuku.

"Them?" Asked Shoka with a neutral expression, while feeling like her heart was shattering. "What about you? Aren't you worried about yourself? Worried about what you're going through now? About what you'd go through in the future?"

Shadow's covered Izuku's eyes. "What happens to me doesn't matter. At least the way things are now, no one else is getting hurt." He Replied, his voice hollow.

The others were silent. This kid is being beaten and neglected to the point one might consider it torture, but he's still more worried about others.

It didn't take long for Shoka to find her voice again. "That's where you're wrong kid." She said lowly. "You do matter. You deserve to be safe, protected, cared for, and loved as much as anyone."

Izuku didn't move a muscle. "No, I'm just some villain who needs to be kept on a short leash."

Shoka walked over and sat on his bed next to him. She gently lifted his head to look at her. "No you're not. You're just a kid who's judged harshly because of how people view his quirk. But quirks don't make someone a villain. And from what I saw in that alley, you're more of a hero."

Izuku was stunned by what she said. A hero? No one had ever called him that. No one had ever even entertained the notion of him ever being a hero. He stared at her with wide eyes. "What did you say?" He said quietly.

Shoka gave him a gentle smile as she released her grip on him. "I said you're a hero. You fought to protect someone. If that doesn't make someone a hero, I don't know what does."

Izuku shook his head. "No, I was only a nuisance. I could only delay them until you showed up. Then you had to save both of us." He said sadly.

Shoka was about to argue that but before she could a voice was heard from the doorway. "But you are a hero." It said. Everyone turned to see Hatsume standing at the door. Everyone was so focused on the conversation they never heard her enter. "If it wasn't for you, who knows what would have happened to me." She said with a sad smile.

At that time. Shoka decided to never tell either of them that she showed up not long after Izuku. "See?" She said, regaining Izuku's attention. "While reckless, you did what you could. The outcome isn't what matters, your actions are."

Izuku sat there silent for a few seconds, processing what they told him. Before he knew it his emotions overtook him and the tears started to flow out like a waterfall.

Hatsume was worried and quickly started towards him, but stopped when she noticed Shoka embrace him quickly, yet careful of everything attached to him. He had latched on to her tight. She felt the need to help him, but didn't know what she could do, this wasn't something she was used to.

As she stood there worried, Tsukauchi walked over to her with a soothing smile "Hey, how are you holding up?" She asked.

"I'm ok, I'm here overnight due to a concussion... Is he going to be ok?" She asked worried.

Tsukauchi's smile faltered a bit. "That's a complicated answer. I'm sorry, but we need to discuss some personal matters. So I need to ask you to come back some other time."

"But...!" Started Hatsume.

Tsukauchi held up her hand to stop her. "I know you're worried, but what we need to talk about is very important. I will let you know as soon as we're done."

Hatsume just stood there silently as she looked over at the sobbing form of Izuku. "Promise me... Promise me you'll tell me as soon as possible." She told Tsukauchi with an expression that said she wouldn't take anything less.

"I promise." She replied.

Hatsume merely gave her a nod before giving Izuku one last look, then made her way out of the room.

Recovery Girl kept an eye on both interactions. She walked over to Tsukauchi once the door clicked shut. "I have a feeling that what she has to say will do him a world of good."

Tsukauchi kept smiling towards the door. "I have no doubt in my mind that it will." She looked back towards Izuku and Shoka. "It looks like she might have helped already."

Recovery Girl looked over at the two with the same smile. They watched and waited for Izuku to calm down. It took a few minute before he did.

Recovery Girl grabbed the box of tissues on the stand and handed it to Izuku, who started to clean his face of. "Thank you. Sorry you all had to see that, and for getting your costume wet." He told Recovery Girl and Shoka. Recovery Girl simply gave him a smile while waving off his apology.

Shoka gave him the same smile. "No need to apologize. It looked like you needed to get it out, I'm just glad I could help."

Izuku gave a small smile. "Thank you." He said quietly.

The four fell into a comfortable silence, before Tsukauchi gave a fake cough to gain everyone's attention. "I'm sorry to put a damper on the mood. But we still need to get a report on your foster mother Ms. Chiaki, and what she's doing to you."

Izuku's look turned somber, he still looked reluctant. Shoka place a hand on his shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze of encouragement. He looked at her for a couple seconds before nodding. He spoke in a hollow and numb voice.

Apparently the abuse started the same day he was taken in. He remembered being afraid of how he would be treated, but hopeful for a better life. All his Hope was dashed the moment he looked at her once the caseworker left. She gave him a look filled with so much hate he became terrified.

First thing Ms. Chiaki did was tell all the others in the home that he was dangerous. That he was nothing but a villain and a liar who framed an innocent man. She told the same thing to all the neighbors, his teachers and principle as well when she enrolled him into a new school. The staff of Said school also wasted no time telling all the students.

That first day, she threw or gave away all his stuff besides a few cloths. He was forced to sleep in the attic, never given a proper bed. He was given a massive chore list that he had to complete every day. Even if something wasn't dirty, he had to clean it. He had to get all the chores done or get beaten, or even forced to go hungry for a day. Most nights he wouldn't be able to get to bed until 11 at the earliest, and he had to be awake by 5, or get beaten.

One of the things included making meals, all of them. He had to learn how to cook on his own. And if they weren't good enough, he would go without any food. Which all he's had for the past 4 years was stale bread. At least, that's what he was given. Because he was the one doing the grocery shopping most of the time, he was sometimes lucky in finding money, or people gave him money thinking he was homeless thanks to his cloths being in poor shape. Though some turned their noses up at him, and others would call him a druggy thanks to how thin he is.

"It honestly felt like torture doing all that cooking and those grocery trips, knowing I wasn't going to get to eat any of it. Thankfully the money I found and the kindness of strangers allowed me to get something more from time to time. Though it was far and few in between. So I had to be smart with the money, I bought the cheapest bento's that gave me the most food. Hiding the money was easy since no one would search the attic."

The others had a difficult time keeping their rage in check. They wanted nothing more than to arrest Ms. Chiaki for everything she's done. And if she was to get a few injuries in the meantime, well they wouldn't complain. Tsukauchi took a deep breath to keep her temper in check. "Didn't anyone help you? Your foster siblings? Neighbors? Teachers? Students?" She asked, almost desperate for someone to be there for him. Her heart sank when she saw him shake his head.

"The neighbors praised her for keeping a villain who got off scot-free in check. Teachers and principle to, but they also did what they could to keep me in line with extra homework and harsh punishments for minor things they viewed as wrong from me. The students either avoided me or bullied me, just like with the previous school."

Izuku took a deep breath, and looked at his right hand. "My foster siblings were the worst beside Ms. Chiaki. They would beat me just for fun, made messes to get me in trouble, even lied to Ms Chiaki to get me punished. It didn't take much though. I remember one time accidentally brushing my hand against Sara Chiaki, Ms. Chiaki's daughter. Even though It was merely her hand, I immediately apologized, trying to prevent any punishment. She started to scream at me for touching her. Ms. Chiaki heard and came to investigate, she immediately started glaring at me as she came and asked what happened. Her daughter told her that I tried to sexually assault her. So Ms. Chiaki grabbed the wooden bat she used for my harsher punishments. Usually she would just strike me in the torso, but this time she went for my knee first. It hurt enough that I immediately fell to the floor. She then stomped on my arm and started smashing my hand with the bat."

Izuku looked up to the three adults and could practically see the dark aura coming off the three of them. He became terrified that they were angry of him, so he started trying to back away instinctively. 'No! They were lying! They don't want to help me and think I'm lying or are mad that I said anything! Now they're going to punish me or tell Ms. Chiaki!' He screamed mentally.

The three noticed Izuku starting to cower away. It took them a second to understand why he was so afraid, that they were letting their anger overtake them, and he was picking up on it. It was just so difficult not to feel enraged after hearing what happened to him. No one deserves to go through what he has. They quickly got their fury under control and went into protection mode. Shoka brought her hand to cup Izuku's cheek, and started mentally berating herself when she saw him flinch.

"Hey, hey, it's ok, we aren't angry at you. We're pissed at the people who have done what they did to you. And we promise to do everything we can to make sure they get the punishment they deserve."

Izuku was reluctant to believe them, but as he looked at Tsukauchi and Recovery Girl he saw them nod with determined looks. He was still afraid, and had difficulty trusting them, but they had a look in their eyes, a look that told him they were speaking the truth, that they wanted to help and protect him. He slowly nodded as he began to relax.

Tsukauchi was upset with herself. She had promised him years ago that he would be safe, that he wouldn't be hurt anymore. Oh, how wrong she was. She felt that she had failed him, that if she did what she promised, none of that would have happened to him. She walked up to the side of Izuku's bed. "Midoriya." She said, gaining his attention. "I'm not sure if you remember me, but I'm the detective from four years ago." She said.

Izuku's look didn't change as he looked at her as he nodded his head. "Yeah. I... I remember."

Tsukauchi gave a mournful look. "I should have done this right after I entered the room, but I admit, I was scared of what you'd say. But cowardice isn't an excuse."

Izuku was confused. "What are you...?" He started but was stunned silent after seeing Tsukauchi get on her hands and knees and bow her head all the way to the floor. Shoka was confused on what she was doing, though Recovery Girl had a guess.

"I'm sorry I failed to keep my promise." She said. Izuku gave a pensive look. Shoka was about to say something, but Recovery Girl shook her head no. "I promised that you would be safe. That I would put you in a good home, that you no one would hurt you again. But I failed. I should have kept an eye on you. Made sure nothing happened. I know I don't deserve your forgiveness, and I don't expect it, but I'm so sorry." She said with tears dripping from her eyes.

Shoka and Recovery Girl looked towards Izuku as Tsukauchi stayed on her hands and knees. Izuku stayed silent, looking deep in thought, for only a few seconds, but what felt like an eternity to Tsukauchi. Izuku looked down at Tsukauchi. "Please get up." He said silently. Tsukauchi didn't budge. "Please. You have nothing to be sorry for." He said a little louder.

"Of course I do! I failed to protect you!" She yelled as she clenched her eyes shut, while the tears fell faster.

Izuku carefully started to stand, to which Shoka moved to stop him, only for Recovery Girl stopped her. Izuku carefully knelt next to Tsukauchi, as to make sure not to tug on the wires and IV attached to him. He placed a hand on her shoulder, to which her eyes shot open. "I don't blame you for anything that happened to me. I admit, there was a time I tried to, but I couldn't. I never could. You were the one person to believe me about what Murisaki was doing to me. You forced an investigation that many told you would end your career, including your coworkers and many heroes. YOU put that bastard away... YOU saved my life." Said Izuku, making more tears than before drop from Tsukauchi. "You worked hard to help me. And You had no way of knowing what would happen."

Tsukauchi slowly rose her head off the floor and looked directly in Izuku's kind eyes. His look showed that his words were genuine, which made it impossible to stop the tears as she rose up off the ground, but not to her feet.

Izuku decided to take a gamble and hugged Tsukauchi, much to her surprise, though she hugged back a couple seconds later. While she still felt guilt over what happened to Izuku, the load felt much lighter. Here she was, crying on the shoulders of a boy who SHE was supposed to be comforting, a boy who has gone through a hell she's only seen and heard from the outside, a hell she couldn't even begin to fully fathom, and yet he was the one comforting her. though, she did feel her shoulder dampen as well.

Recovery Girl and Shoka both watched the sight with smiles on their faces. 'This kid.' Thought Shoka.

After a couple of minutes, Tsukauchi separates from Izuku and wiped her eyes as he did the same. "Thank you I appreciate that, and sorry. We're here for you, not me." She said. She stood up and helped Izuku stand and back into bed.

Izuku has gotten himself comfortable, well, as comfortable as someone can get still attached to everything. "That doesn't mean I'm not willing to help you out. So do you need my statement about the fight in the alley?"

"No, that can wait for some other time." She said. "We need to discuss where you'll be living now."

Izuku gave a confused look. "Aren't I just going to a new foster home? Why would we need to discuss that?" He asked.

"Well that's the thing, that depends on your answer." Said Shoka.

"My answer to what?"

Shoka took a deep breath, feeling a little nervous. She looked into his eyes, and gave a heartwarming smile. "How would you like to come live with me?" She asked softly.

Izuku was dumbfounded. Someone WANTS him to live with her. Did he hear her right? he was honestly having a hard time believing it. "What? Why would you want to foster me?" He asked.

"well I was thinking more along the lines of adoption. As for why. I've seen your file, I know about what has happened to you, I know you have suffered a great deal. I can also tell you are a kind hearted boy with a caring soul despite all of it. So I want to give you a better life. I want to help you get better, to give you a chance to grow into whatever you want to become, and into the great man I know you will be." She said warmly with a loving smile.

Izuku didn't know what to say. She wanted to help him. She wanted to give him a good life.

'Who'd ever care about you?' Said a voice in his head. He tried to shut the voice out, but it only grew louder.

'She's a hero, she only wants the prestige that comes from helping out poor pathetic Izuku! No one will ever truly want you! No one will help you! You're nothing but a villain and a toy for others to use how they wish!'

The voice was practically screaming as he struggled to silence it. Thankfully it went away when he felt Shoka gently shake his shoulders. He noticed that she seemed worried, looking around the others were as well.

"Midoriya, you ok? You looked like you were in pain." She said.

Izuku blinked a couple of times. "Yeah, sorry. I… I was just thinking." He said near a whisper.

Shoka looked at her lap sadly. "I'm sorry for springing this on you suddenly. I know you don't know me, and If you don't want to, I understand." She said, feeling her heart breaking.

Izuku watched her silently. 'She seems like she genuinely cares.' He thought. He looked off to the side. "I'm sorry, I... I just have difficulty trusting people. Especially hero's." He said. Shoka nodded her head, trying to keep from crying. Izuku looked back at her. "But I want to try." He said.

Shoka's head quickly snapped back at Izuku. "So then you want to...?"

"Yes." He said with an embarrassed smile. "I'd love to be adopted by you."

Shoka's smile slowly grew as she processed what he said, as tears formed in her eyes. She couldn't help as her emotions took control, and she carefully wrapped him in a hug, and he hugged back. "I will do everything in my power to make sure you don't regret it...son" She whispered.

"Thank you...mom" Izuku whispered back. Shoka's smile grew even larger. He knew he'd be crying right now to if he had any tears left to cry. They separated after a few seconds to which Izuku immediately felt a great deal of fatigue. Today has been an emotional roller coaster. And not a gentle one either.

The others could easily see his exhaustion. "You've had a tough day, it's best if you get some rest." Said Recovery Girl, then pointed her cane at Shoka. "You to missy, your sleep schedule is bad enough as it is."

"But I need to get the adoption paperwork started... wow I think this is the first time I actually WANT to do paperwork." She mumbled.

The others all laughed, with Izuku feeling touched. "Get some sleep Eraser. I'll get everything set up for you. I'll even pull some strings to get the process streamlined." Said Tsukauchi. "It's the least I can do."

Shoka couldn't help but yawn. She's been up for a while and today hasn't been easy for her either. "Fine, But call principle Nezu and ask for his help, and anyone else at UA you think could help out. Tell them I'm calling in a favor if need be." She said sternly.

Izuku's mind was going at the speed of light right now. 'Eraser? UA?' Was continuously asked in his head. Then it clicked? "You're Eraserhead!? You work at UA!?" He yelled, startling everyone with his outburst. "I knew you were a hero but I didn't know you were THE Eraserhead. You are one of my favorite heroes. And you work at UA? That is so cool! He spoke a mile a minute without so much as a breath between sentences.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, calm down." Aizawa said while she was happy at being called one of his favorites. "*Chuckles* Man we are really doing this out of order. Yes I'm Eraserhead, though my name is Shoka Aizawa. Call me either Shoka or mom, whichever you're more comfortable with. And yes, I'm a teacher at UA, I'm a first year Heroics teacher. How do you even know me anyways? I'm an underground hero.

Izuku rubbed one of his arms and blushed in embarrassment. "Well when I was younger I studied heroes whenever I could, eventually I found you. While not a lot was known about you back then, it didn't stop the media from trying to get stories on you. Your technique and skill are top tier, your results are outstanding, and I've always respected your drive to help for the sake of helping." He spoke.

Shoka was trying to hide her blush behind her scarf, as Tsukauchi and Recovery Girl smirked at her.

"I'm also a huge fan of yours Recovery Girl." Said Izuku. This time it was Recovery Girls turn to be shocked. "It's rare for someone with a healing quirk to because a hero. It's dangerous for them in the field and I'm sure hospitals pay just as well for them. Yet you do both. You easily have the highest rescue count among hero's thanks to your healing. I'm even sure there would be a lot less hero's nowadays if it wasn't for you."

Recovery Girl had a huge grin on her face. "Oh you sweet talker you. You'll make an old lady blush." She said waving her hand at him.

Terror washed over Izuku instantly. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to try anything I swear!" He yelled fearful, positioning his arms to protect himself. All the others were immediately worried. They were sure it was another issue beaten into him by his foster mother. There was a lot of work ahead of them to help him out, but they will do it gladly.

"There's nothing to be worried about sonny. You did nothing wrong, I'm actually flattered." She said with a soft smile, trying to ease his fear.

Izuku watched her, scanning for any sign of deceit. When he found none, he slowly lowered his arms. "O-ok. I'm sorry." He said softly.

"You have nothing to be sorry for." Said Recovery Girl. Izuku responded with a small nod.

Tsukauchi walked up to Izuku and place a hand on his shoulder. "I've got to get going, there is a lot of things that I need to get started." She the pulled out a card from her pocket and wrote something on the back before handing it to Izuku. He looked over the card and saw it was a business card with another phone number written on the back. "That's my work and personal number, call me if you ever need anything, even if it's just to talk." She said, then gave Shoka a mischievous look. "Or if you need an actual adult."

"Hey!" Was all Shoka Said. Everyone laughed at the whole thing.

"I'll see you soon Midori… sorry. Aizawa." She said.

Izuku smiles at being called Aizawa, but there was something else he'd prefer her calling him. "you can call me Izuku." He said. "You to Recovery Girl."

Both of them smiled at him. "And you can call me Naomi." Tsukauchi turned to leave but remembered something after she opened the door. "Oh, and the pink haired girl will be back soon." She told them as she left.

"I better get going to, I have other patients to take care of, but I'll check on you soon." She said and started to leave.

"Um Recovery girl." He called her nervously, gaining her attention. "Can... can I get some pain killers? The burn is starting to really hurt."

She smiled at him. "Of course, I'll get a nurse right on it." She heard a quiet thank you as she left the room, leaving Izuku and Shoka by themselves.

The two sat there in silence, not knowing what to say. Shoka quickly realized that there was one thing she overlooked. While she was used to dealing with young adults thanks to teaching, she had zero experience in having personal conversations with them. "So... you used to study hero's?" She said, trying to get a conversation started, and was relieved when she saw the stars in his eyes.

"Yes! I loved studying hero's I'd spend a lot of my free time analyzing their quirks, fighting style, rescue techniques, strengths, weaknesses, everything." He said excited before his face fell and started scratching the back of his head. "I used to have several notebooks full of notes about many heroes, and several villains and other people who I thought had cool quirks."

Aizawa had a good idea of what happened to them. "How many did you have?"

"11." He replied without missing a beat."

"Holy cow. That's a lot of research." Shoka Said with wide eyes. "Sounds like I need to get you some new notebooks."

"Y-you would do that?" He asked meekly.

She gently grasped his hand. "Of course, I will even help you with them if you want. And don't hesitate to ask me for anything you need or want." She replied. Though she doubted he would for a little while, and even then only ask for minor things. Mental and psychological damage was never simple, and took time, sometimes even years. That wasn't going to stop her from spoiling him though.

Izuku smiles at her. "Thank you."

"No problem. So did you take all those notes to help you train to become a hero?" Asked Shoka, though she believed she already knew the answer.

"Yes. All I've ever wanted to be is a hero. Even before I got my quirk. As I got older, the desire just grew stronger. I want to help and bring hope to people, especially those who feel like there is no one there for them." He said with such determination that Shoka was convinced that he was born to be a hero, and even saying he would be anything else would just be an insult to the very universe.

"So you do want to be a hero." They heard from the door. They turned and saw Hatsume standing there.

"Seriously?! Even I have trouble opening doors without making a sound, and you do it like it's easy." Said Shoka, causing Izuku to chuckle.

Hatsume simply shrugged and walked in with a smile.

"Hey, thank you for what you said earlier. It meant a lot." Said Izuku.

"There's no need to thank me, I only spoke the truth. It's you who deserves the thanks. I meant what I said earlier, and I want to reward you."

"There's no need! I only did what was right. I'm just glad you're ok."

"You did more than that. You put yourself in danger for a complete stranger. And since you're going to become a licensed hero, I want to help you out. I've got so many ideas for babies that can assist you!" Said Hatsume, getting progressively more excited.

Izuku was flattered that she said that he IS going to become a licensed hero, not that he was going to try. But his shock kinda overpowered it. Glancing over at Shoka she was thinking the same thing he was. "Babies?!" They both yell simultaneously.

"Yes! I have babies that can capture villains, babies that can create shields, babies that can make you go faster, babies that can...!"

Izuku was waving his hands in front of himself getting her attention. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. When you say babies, do you mean support gear?" He asked completely confused.

"That's what I said! Anyways I have babies that put out fires instantly, babies that insulate you from electricity, babies that help you hear, babies that..." Hatsume continued on with her list. Shoka watched with an amused look on her face.

Izuku was astounded by the amount of gadgets Hatsume is saying she has. "Where do you get all that stuff?"

Hatsume gave him a smile he would describe as proud, slightly manic, ... and absolutely beautiful. "I make all of it!" She said.

Both Shoka and Izuku were astonished. "What grade are you in?" Asked Shoka

"I'm a second year in high school. Why?" Asked Hatsume, tilting her head to the side.

'God, she is so cute... NO! Bad Izuku! You can't have these kinds of thoughts!' Izuku mentally scolded himself.

"It's just impressive for someone even in college, let alone someone still in high school."

Hatsume smiled with pride. "My parents do say I was born with a wrench in my hand." Hatsume said with a laugh. She pointed a thumb at her chest. "I'm going to be a top support gear inventor!"

"Ambitious." Said Shoka with a smile. "So does that mean you plan on going to a top college?"

"I'd skip it altogether if you didn't need to go to get certified, but yes, I'm going to go to UA. At least I can make some good contacts while I'm there."

"You're going to go to UA?" Asked Izuku.

Hatsume was absolutely beaming with pride. "Of course, only the best of the best will do. Besides, I've heard they have an amazing workshop, with a ton of resources." She started rubbing her hands together. "Oh! the babies I can make there!"

Izuku and Shoka watched with a sweatdrops hanging from their heads. "So then why do you want to help me? It sounds like you could make better use of your time." Said Izuku.

Hatsume let out an exasperated sigh. "I told you. You helped me, it's only right."

"But..." started Izuku before Hatsume held a hand in front of his face to stop him.

"Besides, I can't think of a better use of my time than helping a hero." She said. Izuku was stunned silent. "I want to help heroes save others." She looked down and to the side while rubbing her arm. "And I want to make sure they live as long as possible."

Izuku was in awe. Her motivation was so selfless. He smiled at her. "Sounds like you're going to be the hero to heroes. I'd be honored to get your help."

Hatsume blushes slightly from the compliment. "The honor is all mine!"

'Maybe... Maybe I finally won't b e alone anymore.' He thought.

"Now to best help you, I need to know your quirk!" Shouted Hatsume.

Izuku's Thought was completely disintegrated. He started to panic. 'Oh no! How could I forget?! Once she learns what my Quirk is she'll think I'm just another villain like everybody else! What about Eraserhead?! She said a quirk doesn't make you a villain, but does she know what mine is?! They're both going to a change their minds and I'll just be sent back to Ms. Chiaki who'll beat me for not doing my chores! How could I ever believe anyone would care for a villain like me!?"

Shoka and Hatsume has both concerned when Izuku's expression instantly shifted to worry, and as the seconds ticked by, he looked more and more scared.

It wasn't hard for Shoka to realize what was bothering him. So she grabbed hold of his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze, gaining his attention, before he went to deep into the rabbit hole. "Izuku, I already know EVERYTHING about your quirk. I'm not going to abandon you."

'She's lying. She'll kick you to the curb the moment you stop being useful. And you know that won't take long.' The voice in his head spoke.

'No! She won't do that!' He argues back.

'Of course she will. She's a hero, she doesn't care about other people. So why would she care about you?'

'Because... because...'

'Exactly. There's no reason to trust anything she says. A worthless villain like you will be alone forever!'

Izuku felt the bed move on the other side of him, it was Hatsume sitting on the bed. She grabbed hold of his other hand. "I don't know exactly what's going on, but it seems like you have issues with your quirk. If you're not comfortable talking about it, we can just work on your abilities without it." Hatsume said kindly.

Izuku looked between Shoka and Hatsume. They were both giving him kind, accepting smiles. 'I might as well tell them. Before I get to attached.' He thought.

"My quirks is complicated." Izuku started, talking barely loud enough for them to hear. He looked at Hatsume, she seemed to be waiting for him to continue. "My quirk is called Incubus. It requires a resource to use the offensive abilities, though because of that, I know very little of what it can do. All I know is that I can grow what look like bat wings, and produce some sort of energy blast."

"Ooooooo! I can already imagine a few babies to help with those. OH, and maybe a baby to help you gather the recourse! What is it?!" Hatsume asked excitedly.

"Female pheromones. I don't know exactly how I gather them though."

Hatsume's turned a scarlet red. It was definitely a unique resource to stockpile. "Ooooookay. So it sounded like you can also use abilities without the pheromones, what are they?" She asked while trying to change subjects.

"Well I can make my skin blemish free, I call it Flawless Complexion. still not sure what that has to do with my quirk yet." He said. Shoka noticed he was leaving out a few details. Seems it's not something he wants others to know. "And the other one is called..." Izuku pause, not wanting to explain that dreaded power. He knew he had to get it over with, so he took a deep breath before continuing. "It's called Gaze of Lust. If I have eye contact with someone, I can use it to make them strongly desire and lust after me. So much so that they won't be able to resist it or me." Izuku finished, now just waiting for Hatsume to call him a villain and leave.

"Huh." She said, putting her hand on her chin thinking. "You weren't kidding about it being complicated. And gathering it must be difficult if you don't know how you collect it yet. Well just seems we're going to have to experiment and figure it out. In the meantime we have to go with the fighting Quirkless idea until we can figure it out. After that, the really fun stuff begins!" She said, surprising Izuku.

Izuku slowly looked towards Hatsume with wide eyes. She was still blushing a bit, but she was maintaining eye contact. No one has ever made eye contact with him after hearing what his quirk did. Actually Shoka, Naomi, and Recovery Girl maintained eye contact. Did they know the full extent of his quirk? "You're n-not going to call me a villain and leave?"

Hatsume tilted her head to the side in confusion. "Why would I do that?"

"B-because of my quirk."

Hatsume just became more confused. 'What does that have to do with being a villain?' She thought. After some thinking, it hit her. Well, more like she remembered. A girl that went to her middle school who was called a villain due to her quirk as well. What was it again? Body snatching? Brain swapping? Eh, whatever. The point was how she was treated. And it seems Izuku was treated the same. "Unless you're using it to do something bad, you're no villain. And I don't see nor feel any evidence of that." She said with a smile.

Izuku sat there stunned, mouth hanging open slightly, before it turned into an appreciative smile. "Thank you."

Hatsume waved it off. "There's no need to thank me. So. Your current physical state isn't caused by your quirk?" She asked.

"Oh, um, no. It's not." He said hesitantly.

'Note to self, ask him about his state later. Baby plans first, likely depressing story that includes a chance of me developing a hatred for mankind second.' She thought. She grabbed hold of Izuku's arm and started feeling it up, pretending she didn't notice him flinch at her touching him, and ignoring the sadness she felt when she quickly noticed how little muscle or even fat there was.

"So I'm thinking I'll start by making some training gear. Something that can be easily adjusted as you progress. Maybe even a baby that can..." She started listing off ideas. 'He risked his life to save mine, now it's my turn to save his.' She thought, while continuing to speak.

Shoka was silent as she watched the two of them talk. Hatsume was giving off ideas for gear for Izuku, some of which sounded highly advanced, or even downright impossible. She was smiling the whole time. She was relieved when Hatsume didn't call him a villain. After hearing his story, she was afraid of how she'd react. But her fears were put to rest. 'Already made a friend huh? She seems like a good friend to have too. These two will do great things together. I just know it.' She thought happily. 'Now if only I had remembered to bring my sleeping bag.'

Izuku was listening to Hatsume list off idea's, while occasionally adding his own suggestions. Honestly he was feeling pretty overwhelmed. She is talking about putting in a bunch of work, just for him. He wanted to refuse her offer, but the look in her eyes told him she wouldn't let him. He looked towards Shoka, who was watching the two of them with a smile. She squeezed his hand she was still holding when she saw him look her way. It actually brought him great comfort. He smiled at her, and look back towards Hatsume. 'Maybe. Just maybe. I can finally have hope for the future.'


	5. Chapter 4 Allies

**A/N I know this story is progressing slowly, but I promise it will pick up next chapter. And thank you all for taking the time to read my fic.**

As soon as Tsukauchi had taken a couple steps away from Izuku's room, she slumped against the wall and slid down. This was in no way how she expected her day to turn out, but here she was, starting another case for someone who's already fallen victim to some of the worst the world has to offer.

Recovery Girl walked up to her and placed a hand on her knee, looking at her with worry. "How are you feeling dearie?"

Tsukauchi looked at her for a couple of seconds before looking away. "I'm fine, just a little tired."

"For someone with a lie detecting quirk, you are a terrible liar." With slight annoyance, but still worried.

"Don't worry about me, you have patients that need your attention." Recovery girl hit her on the head with her cane. "Hey! What was that for?!" She said.

"For being an idiot. You obviously have something wrong with you, and I'm going to help. Now you can either talk about it, or I drag you to a room for a THOROUGH examination." Recovery Girl huffed in annoyance.

Tsukauchi let out a deep sigh, she forgets how Stubborn Recovery Girl can be. But she knows it comes from a place of caring. "I'm worried, ok?"

Recovery Girl's expression softened. "We all are. These kinds of things are never easy."

"It's more than that."

Recovery Girl gave a confused look. "What do you mean?"

"I mean I'm not sure if I'll be able to build a case against Chiaki. Which will make getting Izuku out of that house much harder if she tries to fight it." Said Tsukauchi frustrated.

Recovery Girls expression fell. She wasn't wrong. Abuse cases are never simple, there is always a bunch of 'he said she said' involved, and it doesn't help that based on what Izuku told them, it could turn into one persons word against many. But she couldn't give up, or let Tsukauchi give up either. And she knew just how to light a fire under her. "So does that mean you're just going to give up?"

Tsukauchi looked at her, clearly insulted. "Of course not! I'm going to do everything in my power to get him out of there." Her face fell again. "I'm just not sure how I'm going to be able to do anything."

"You did it during the Murisaki case. So why not now?"

"That was different. There was a clear trail of evidence and proof against Murisaki" Tsukauchi argued.

"Pfffft, you only say that now because that case is shut. I remember when you spent that first week pounding your head against the wall trying to find even a scrap of proof." Rebuked Recovery Girl. Tsukauchi opened her mouth like she was about to argue before shutting it again. "Exactly. This case won't be easy, just like the Murisaki case. But you didn't give up then despite that pretty much everyone was against you, including All Might."

Tsukauchi looked deep in thought as she Remembered everything about that case. It was easily one of the darkest cases she had ever investigated, only beat out by the All for One case. Both of them are truly evil. "You know that was one of the few big fights I had with her. She argued that there is no way Murisaki was a bad guy, that he wasn't that kind of person. Heck, you were one of two people that stood by my side during that investigation. I really do appreciate you and Gran Torino for that."

"I know, you've told us a million times... each. But I do remember that argument. It got fairly heated. I'm Glad Izuku wasn't around to see it. I'm also glad that you two reconciled." Said Recovery Girl as she saw a smile show up on Tsukauchi's face.

"I am to. Though in all honesty, it did feel good seeing her grovel in apology after all that."

Tsukauchi and Recovery girl chuckled at the memory. She made All Might fill out her own paperwork AND Tsukauchi's for a month. Tsukauchi looked towards Izuku's door. "It still astounds me how people were able to brush off Izuku's claims so easily. Like they decided he was lying before he even spoke, despite all his pleas for help. I still remember when I first saw him, he looked so... broken. Like he had to literally force himself to seek help, rather than just accepting what was happening, and what would have happened." She then looked down at her lap sadly. "But Maybe I would have done the same if it wasn't for my quirk."

Recovery Girl gave her a light rap with her cane. Not enough to hurt, just enough to get her point across. "There is no use on dwelling on what ifs. You DO have your quirk, you BELIEVED him, and YOU saved him." She then leaned in and lifted Tsukauchi's head to look at her. "And you will save him again. It won't be easy, but I know you can do it."

Tsukauchi looked at Recovery girl as an appreciative smile spread across her face. She then got on her knees and gave her a hug, that was returned. "Thank you."

"Any time dearie." They separated from the hug, and Recovery Girl reach into her pocket and handed Tsukauchi some of her special gummy bears. "You need to keep your energy up, and I'd recommend getting yourself some food as well. You have a bitch to catch."

Tsukauchi snorted as she tried to stifle a laugh. It was rare when Recovery Girl cussed. So it was always humorous when she did. And Recovery Girl probably knew that, and does it when someone needs their spirits lifted. It always works.

Tsukauchi gave Recovery Girl a determined look and nod before turning around to leave. Her mind went straight to thinking of how to get evidence against Chiaki, since most of her usual methods were off the table. She thought through every method she could use, but none of them stuck. Maybe she should get a different point of view. She knew exactly who could help her with that, as she sat down in her car she dialed up the number.

"Hello Ms. Tsukauchi it's good to hear from you, how are you doing this morning?" Came a slightly high pitch voice from the phone.

"Hey Nezu, it's been a difficult morning if I'm being honest." She replied.

"Ah, I take it this has to do with Izuku Midoriya?" Nezu replied knowingly.

Tsukauchi was shocked "How did you...? You know what, I should accept that you just know everything." She said, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"*chuckling* while I appreciate the compliment, it's simpler than that." He says lightheartedly before his tone goes completely serious with an edge of sadness. "I simply read Eraserhead's reports and noticed he had to resuscitate Midoriya, despite receiving no injuries to warrant it. It also brought up the poor condition he is in. So I looked into his recent record and found it completely empty. I had some suspicions of something going on, but they weren't confirmed until you called."

Tsukauchi was a little confused. "How does it his records being empty cause suspicion?"

"You know what happened to Midoriya better than anyone. Now what caring guardian wouldn't send their ward to therapy at the very least?" Nezu asked simply.

"I hate to say it, but based on his story, I doubted he was getting any. I'm also a little worried if any therapist would even take him." Said Tsukauchi dejectedly.

"Oh? So you've already got a statement from Midoriya?"

Tsukauchi debated on telling Nezu about the potential adoption, since it was obvious he didn't know, but decided it wasn't her place. So Tsukauchi gave a recap on everything else, from the medical reports, to Izuku's statement, and even about some mental ticks they noticed.

Nezu was silent during Tsukauchi's telling, simply writing down notes. To say he was disgusted was an understatement. Nezu already deeply sympathizes with anyone who has gone through any kind of torture, that went triple for Izuku due to his age. Only to hear that after last time, he went through even more? This would be the Third time Izuku was betrayed by those who should be caring for him, and the second time his suffering was ignored.

After Tsukauchi was done telling Nezu what she knew, she was a little disturbed by his silence. Even when dealing with difficult situations, he was normally really chatty, or at least making some sort of sound to fill any silence. But now? The silence was almost deafening. "Nezu?"

She instantly heard a snap come from the phone. She could only guess that he was deep in thought, and when her voice broke him out of it he snapped his pencil. His head undoubtedly was in a dark place. "My apologies, just trying to come up ideas to bring the offending party to justice... And I do have a suggestion."

Tsukauchi sighed in relief. "Thank god, I've been drawing blanks here."

"Speak to everyone involved, letting them know you are collecting evidence against Midoriya."

Tsukauchi's first instinct was to get angry and ask Nezu 'what he was thinking'. Thankfully her logical side stopped her and allowed her to hear the disgusted undertone to his statement, like it make him feel physically ill just saying it. "Ok, and what would that do?" She asked keeping her anger in check.

"You said that everyone praised Chiaki for her actions, and most likely she is proud of them, so acting like Midoriya is the guilty party could lull them into a false sense of security and you could get actual admissions. It's not a pleasant thing to do I admit, I hate suggesting making a victim sound like the guilty party, but tough times call for tough decisions."

Tsukauchi let out a deep sigh. She felt like she was a rookie again. It was even a tactic taught to her by her mother, the best detective she's ever known. "Damn it your right. I hate using that tactic myself, but we don't have the luxury to be picky. Thank you Nezu, I owe you one."

"Well if that's how you feel, I already have something in mind." Said Nezu back in his usually cheerful voice.

"What can I do for you?"

"Bring everyone involved to justice." He said serious.

A determined smile grew on Tsukauchi's face. "Of course. Thank you Nezu." She said. After hearing Nezu grunt, which sounded closer to a squeak, in acknowledgment, she hung up, started her car, and drove off. Determination clear on her face.

* * *

15 minutes later

Shoka and Mei are exiting Izuku's hospital room after visiting for the last half an hour. After a while of the three of them talking about support gear for Izuku, they started on the topic of heroes. Izuku enjoyed fanboying about the heroes he knew and their achievements, though he did apologize for it, which they waved him off telling him it's fine. But he enjoyed learning about recent events and new heroes more.

Mei had tried to ask about Izuku's home life, due to her worries about his current state, but Izuku just deflected those questions with basic statements and questions of his own. It wasn't subtle, so Mei was able to pick up on it, and that included his squirming. She decided not to push the subject since it obviously made him very uncomfortable. Though during the whole conversation, she gave both of them permission to use her first name. She was never one for formalities.

Eventually Izuku's exhaustion, and the pain killers kicking in, caught up to him, and he passed out. Mei thought about staying until he woke up, but realized that she should make sure her parents hadn't shown up yet. Shoka followed, figuring it would be a good chance to not only grab one of her sleeping bags and some much-needed food. Hospital food didn't sound appetizing at all. It never does.

As soon as the door shut behind them, Mei let out a sigh. "He doesn't have a good home life does he?"

Shoka stood there for a few seconds silently. "No." She said, the sadness obvious.

Silence. "He isn't safe either, is he?"

Again, silence. "No."

Mei quickly turned to Shoka. "Then please promise me you guys are getting him out of there!" She pretty much screamed.

Shoka raised her hands, trying to calm her down. "We're already working on it. In fact, I'm going to be adopting him myself. So he won't suffer anymore. You really seem to care about him."

Mei put her hands behind her back, started to rub the floor with her foot, and looked down to the side with a blush. "Well I-I don't like it when people suffer, and the fact that it's one of my heroes just makes it worse. I want to do what I can to help him."

"You know if you're wanting to be a part of his life, it's not going to be easy." Said Shoka getting Mei's attention, before Shoka looked at Izuku's door. "Trauma isn't something that just gets fixed. It's going to be a constant in his life, and no matter what anyone does, it will always weigh him down. All anyone can do is help him carry the burden." She said seriously, with a heartbroken undertone.

Mei looks at Izuku's door as well. "Trauma." She whispered to herself. She doesn't know why she felt surprised to hear that word. It was obvious that things were bad for Izuku, but when it's put into words, it made her worry grow worse. She turned back to Shoka, who turned back to her as well. "Then I will help him carry that burden." She said determined.

Shoka smiled at her. She was happy that someone was willing to stand in Izuku's corner with her, and she hoped she would stay. Before she had a chance to speak, they heard someone yelling.

"Mei!" Came a women's voice. They both looked towards the source in time for Hatsume to get hugged by two people, a man and women. The women looked like an older version of Mei only with blonde hair and wearing a dark blue tank top with a jumpsuit tied around her waist just like Mei, only Mei's tank top was black. While the man had pink hair and is huge, he looked to be about 6'4 (193 cm) with arms that looked like he could crush your head with them. He looked like he could be a bodybuilder, the kind that trained for strength, not looks, only not as large of a gut. (A/N Look at strongman competitions. Bodies like All Might are actually extremely unhealthy, and while they have some strength, it's slow and weak in comparison.) He was wearing a dark gray shirt and coveralls. Shoka noted that all three had grease stains on their cloths. It was an interesting sight seeing someone like him hugging the two women and holding them up with ease while looking like he was about to cry as well.

Hatsume's hands were trapped under the hug, so she couldn't even move them, but she looked like she was used to and completely done with this. "Mom, dad, I'm fine, It's just a concussion. You know if dealt with worse." She said deadpan.

Mr. Hatsume set them down, and they both released Mei from the hug. "That doesn't mean we're not going to worry about you. Besides, we were told you were attacked by some punks!" He said worried.

Mrs. Hatsume look ready to explode in anger. "If I ever see those punks, I will disintegrate them!" She yelled.

Mei put her hands on her moms shoulders. "Mom calm down, a couple heroes rescued me. Besides the concussion, nothing else happened to me." She said calmly, trying to ease her mothers anger.

It seemed to somewhat work as she started to take a deep breath. "You're right, they're already dealt with." She then walked towards Shoka. "Are you the hero who saved my baby?" Mei groaned at being called a baby.

Shoka nodded her head. "One of them yes." She said with a neutral expression.

Mrs. Hatsume stuck her hand out her hand to shake Shoka's, to which she accepted. "I can't thank you enough for saving her."

"It's no problem, happy to do it." Shoka replied. She had just release Mrs. Hatsume's hand when she was blindsided by Mr. Hatsume enveloping her in a strong hug, lifting her off the ground. She had to resist the instinct to headbutt the man to defend herself.

"Thank you so much for saving my little girl!" He said with tears streaming down his face anime style.

"Of course... now please release me." She said feeling like her bones were going to crack any second now. Thankfully he did release her.

His wife walked up to him. "Honey I love you, but for being so smart, you are a dumbass. You're lucky she didn't kick your ass."

He looked at her confused. "Why would she do that?"

Mrs. Hatsume looked at him deadpan. "Honey, those hugs could be classified as lethal attacks." Shoka and Mei both nodded their heads in agreement.

"No kidding." Mumbled Shoka, making Mei and her mom chuckle while Mr. Hatsume rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Sorry about that. I can get a little emotional, especially when my children are involved." He said sheepishly.

"It's fine. It's always good seeing a caring parents." Shoka replied nonchalantly.

"Oh, how rude of us." Said Mrs. Hatsume. "My name is Okubo Hatsume, the big lug there is Kase." She said, both of them slightly bowed at their introduction.

Shoka bowed back. "Pleasure. I'm Shoka Aizawa, also known as Eraserhead."

"Nice to meet you Eraserhead." Said Mr. Hatsume with a smile. "So where is the other hero who saved our daughter? We'd like to thank them as well."

It wasn't lost on either parent when Shoka's and Mei's expressions fell. "He's resting in that room there." Said Shoka pointing to Izuku's door.

Both parents grew worried. "Oh my god. Is he ok? Were those punks that tough?" Asked Mrs. Hatsume, her worry growing. "And my baby was attacked by those bastards?!" She said as she hugged Mei again.

"Mom, I Said I'm fine." Mei Said exasperated. "Besides, they weren't that tough."

Now both parents were confused. "If that's the case then why is he in the hospital."

Shoka and Mei looked solemn. "Things are a lot more complicated than that. Let's just say there is a case open, so I can't release any information." Said Shoka.

Mei's parents looked at each other worried. "Can we go in and see him at least? We would like to thank him still." Said Mr. Hatsume.

"Maybe later, he really needs the sleep right now. And I better get going, I need to pick up some stuff from my place and something to eat for the two of us." Replied Shoka.

"Hey, as thanks for saving our little girl, let me drive you and we'll pay for the food." Offered Mr. Hatsume.

"There's no need for that, besides your daughter as already offered to make support gear for Izuku. I will make sure to provide proper compensation though."

"Nonsense. You saved my daughter, and she is far more important than a few gadgets." Said Mrs. Hatsume to Shoka, before turning to her daughter. "And as long as you keep the explosions to a minimum, I don't see any issue with it."

"I don't either." Said Mr. Hatsume before turning to look at Shoka. "But I insist. I want to show my thanks for saving her, and this would be a good start."

Shoka sighed. She can see where Mei got her stubbornness. Shoka scratched the back of her head. "I can see there is no point in arguing. So I guess I'll take you up on your offer. Let's just ask if there are any foods we shouldn't get him."

Mr. Hatsume nodded his head. And turned towards his wife and daughter. "Either of you want something?" As if on cue Mei's stomach rumbles loudly, making her chuckle nervously.

Both parents gave her a stern look. "Young lady, are you skipping meals again?" Asked Mrs. Hatsume.

Shoka was a starting to worry that Mei might be suffering from an eating disorder. "But eating takes time away from my babies! They need me!" Or maybe she is just a workaholic.

Hatsume's mom chopped the top of Mei's head. "Oh they'll definitely need you after you're grounded from the shop."

"No! Please I'm sorry! I'll eat, please don't keep me from my babies!" Begged Mei.

Mrs. Hatsume put her fist on her hips. "I'm sorry young lady, but this can't keep happening. No inventing for three days." Mei visibly deflated. "Sweetie, this is for your own good. We can't have you skipping meals just to work. Your babies can wait for a few minutes each day." She said sternly but lovingly. Mei nodded her head.

Mr. Hatsume rubbed the back of his head. He hated punishing his daughter, but he knew it was for her own good. "Well I guess we'll be on our way, I'll text you when we know where we end up going." After getting a nod of acknowledgment, he and Shoka turned to find a nurse before leaving. "Sorry you had to see that."

"You have nothing to be sorry for. Sometimes punishment is needed to make sure they stay safe and healthy." Said Shoka. Mr. Hatsume smiles and nods as they fall into a comfortable silence as they found a nurse that could tell them what they needed to know, and they proceeded to head to his car.

As they drove off Mr. Hatsume asked where they were going to grab her stuff, and was stunned to learn that it was UA and that she was a first year heroics teacher.

"So what about Izuku? Is he staff there to?"

"No he's a high school student. He just happened to hear Mei scream for help like I did. So he ran in to help her." Shoka answered with a bit of pride in her voice.

At this point Mr. Hatsume just figured this was going to be one of those days fully of the unexpected and should stop being surprised. "Wow, kid sounds really brave. So did you know him beforehand?

"No, today is my first day meeting him."

"Really? No offense, but why are you going so far for him then? You don't usually hear about heroes doing much past stopping villains and rescuing people from danger."

"It's ok, I understand your surprise. Heck, I didn't expect to find myself doing this either. But after what I saw at the scene, and what I've learned about Izuku's situation, I couldn't just do nothing." She mulled over if she should tell him more, and decided that if Mei was going to be a constant in hers and Izuku's life, he deserved to know. "So I'm going to adopt him."

"Adopt? Wait, so the kid is an orphan?"

"Technically no." She said sounding sad and aggravated. "But he's currently in a foster home."

"I have a feeling that there is a lot more to this whole thing." Mr. Hatsume said sounding worried.

"You haven't even seen the tip of the iceberg. I can't reveal the details of the case, and aside from that, things are extremely complicated."

Mr. Hatsume nodded his head dejected. It didn't take a genius to understand the kid hasn't had a good life. "I'm guessing that's why you were careful about what he can eat?"

"Yeah. He's in horrible condition, so I didn't want to do anything to make it worse. I have no medical training besides emergency first aid, so I'm not going to risk anything. Thing is I could describe his condition to you in great detail, and it still wouldn't prepare you for what you're going to see."

It was at that point that Shoka realized that while Mei seems like she doesn't mean harm, she has no idea about her parents "you say you want to thank him personally, but know that I will protect him from anyone that might hurt him, so I have to ask before I allow you to see him." Mr. Hatsume gave her an understanding look, he's protective of his daughter after all. Going to be even more so after today. "Does the name Ukon Murisaki mean anything to you? And don't you dare try to lie to me." She said deathly seriously tone.

"What does that ha...?" Started Mr. Hatsume before glancing at Shoka and seeing the look she was giving him. "Yes it means something to me. He's a monster. A monster who deserved the sentencing he got, and my wife would say it was too lenient. I can't understand why so many people ignore the evidence, and think he's innocent. Only a fool judges a car solely by their chassis." He glanced at Shoka and noticed her relax. "I actually met him once about 10 years ago."

Now Shoka was the one who was surprised. "Really? How?"

"I'm a mechanic and own my own shop. We not only do car repairs, we restore them and do custom jobs as well. We're actually pretty well known." He leans over and pulls out one of the cards he keeps in his back pocket and handed it to Shoka. It was a business card for 'The Manic Mechanic.' "We're best known for custom vehicles. I run the builds and restorations, while the wife makes custom parts. And trust me, anything she builds is a thousand times better than you'll find anywhere else. Anyways, that bastard walks into the shop one day and wants to get a custom van made. He said it was something to drive his foster kids around in, so he wanted to make sure it was safe and that no one could get in if it was locked."

"Tch, sounds more like he wanted to make sure he wouldn't get caught." She said angrily.

"That's what I think to. The thing is though, I had a terrible feeling the moment he walked in. Something just didn't sit right with me. So I told him I couldn't do it. I swear I saw a flash of fury on his face. But it was gone as fast as it appeared. He left without a fuss and I never saw him again. I'm glad I learned long ago to trust my gut, because who knows what could have happened if I made him the van. But what does that monster have to do with any of this?" He asked lost on why this was brought up.

"Do you remember the name of his living victim?" Shoka asked with a hollow voice.

They stopped at a red light. "Yeah, it was... dammit! I know it... it's... oh yeah! It's Izu-ku Mid-or-iya." Said Mr. Hatsume, saying the name slowly as realization hit him. He slowly looked at Shoka. "You said the kids name was Izuku?" Shoka merely nodded. "You're telling me that's who saved my daughter?!" Shoka once again nodded." He just stared at her with wide eyes, mouth agape, barely able to process what he just heard. He was brought out of his thoughts by honking coming from behind him. The light was green.

He started driving again, with his mind going a million miles an hour. To think, that was who saved his daughter. He still remembered watching the news report about Murisaki's arrest. The news anchor had looked visibly uncomfortable as he spoke about what his crimes were. They weren't even in detail, but they were horrifying nonetheless. Heck, he even had nightmares for a few weeks afterwards about what would have happened if he had taken the job to make the van.

Shoka saw Mr. Hatsume was deep in thought, so she stayed silent until they reached UA, and she had him park outside due to security. After she was out of sight, he leaned his head back, running his hand through his hair. 'God, that poor boy. From one nightmare to another.' He thought. He needed to have a discussion with his wife about what he just learned. But regardless, he decided that if his daughter was going to be there for him, so will he.

* * *

Meanwhile

Tsukauchi had just pulled in front of Ms. Chiaki's house. It took her a little while to get wired for recording, and make sure a hero was nearby for back up just in case things went bad. Already she was feeling ill about what she was about to do. She took a few deep breaths, getting into a professional mindset. She needs to do this. For Izuku.

She walked up to the house and rang the doorbell. It didn't take long for Ms. Chiaki herself to answer. "Hello, may I help you?"

Tsukauchi showed her badge. "Hi, I'm detective Tsukauchi, I'm here about..." She started, but Ms. Chiaki interrupted.

"Oh, I've been expecting someone to show up. I knew that brat would get arrested one day. About time, I can get him out of my house." She said nonchalantly as she gestured for Tsukauchi to come in.

Tsukauchi had to hold back her anger. "Yes, we're trying to build a case, so I was hoping to interview you and your kids and check if he had anything illegal here." She said professionally.

Ms. Chiaki didn't seem phased at all. "Of course, 2 of my foster children aren't here right now, but my other 2 and my daughters are here right now." As the two moved to the living room which had 2 couches and a single chair shaped in an L facing a TV. she had Tsukauchi sit down on one of the couches. "Can I get you something to drink?"

"No thank you, I have a lot to cover and would like to get it done."

Ms. Chiaki sat down in the single chair. "So what did that brat do anyways? I'm guessing he sexually assaulted someone? Most likely using his evil quirk to make her do what he wanted?" She asked almost sweetly, which made Tsukauchi want to throw up.

"I'm sorry, I can't discuss an ongoing investigation." Said Tsukauchi maintaining her professional demeanor.

"Ok, I'll just find out when it's over. Do you want me to get everyone down here first?"

"If you would please. A group interview would make things easier." She said with a strained smile. Thankfully she learned to fake a smile from All Might.

"Of course." My. Chiaki stood up to gather the kids. The first to show up was a girl about the same age as Izuku, and looked a lot like Ms, Chiaki only her hair was curly and was slightly taller. The next was a 10-year-old boy, he had ghost white hair and looked like he was always annoyed. With Ms. Chiaki came a pair of twin girls who were about 13, both were Gyarus and wore quite a lot of make-up. All but the boy sat on the other couch, while he sat on the other end of the couch Tsukauchi was on. "The other two are currently playing at friends houses. One is 8, the other is 5. So it's probably best they aren't here for this."

Tsukauchi nodded her head, and pulled out a notepad and pen and started asking questions about Izuku's character and his life at home. From there her mind turned into a war zone of her wanting to lash out at them, and the need to stay professional. The lies kept piling up, including ones she could tell were lies without her quirk, from simple stories of him making lewd comments and promises of sexual assault, to saying he never did any chores around the house, and just kept making things harder for everyone else. All the way to a story of him actually attempting to rape Ms. Chiaki's daughter, saying that he grabbed her ass and groped her chest. She acted very dramatic about how lucky she was that she knew not to look into his eyes, and that her mom helped her fend him off. Tsukauchi suspected this was their version of the story Izuku told them about what happened to his hand.

When Tsukauchi asked if they reported it, they told him they did but the cops didn't do anything because they didn't want to get involved after his last case. Another very obvious lie.

The only thing worse than the lies, were the truths they spoke. They didn't deny keeping him underfed to make sure he couldn't succeed in any attempts he would undoubtedly make. They all had kept an eye on him to make sure he didn't get out of line. Even the younger kids were taught to punch him in the balls if they caught him. How they got the school involved in making sure he had extra homework to keep him busy, and dish out detentions as much as possible. Tsukauchi felt like puking as they told her about how they would constantly beat him to do what they could to keep him in line.

They were all involved in making his life hell. And they seemed proud of it. Like they did a good thing in suppressing a 'villain.' Ms. Chiaki even seemed especially proud at breaking his hand with a bat. In her words "It's one less tool for him to use against innocent victims." It was all really sad how they didn't see how these truths contradicted the lies.

Tsukauchi hated how she had to commend them for their efforts. How she was congratulating all of them on keeping him in line, and even telling them how strong they were for standing up to him. They all ate up the praise like they were entitled to it. Tsukauchi had no proof, but she was sure that the kids were only this way because of Ms. Chiaki.

Thankfully all of her efforts were paying off in spades. She was able to get them to show her Izuku's living space under the guise of looking for weapons and drugs, to which along the way she passed a couple of shared bedrooms. One had a bunch of toys which obviously belonged to the younger 2. She wasn't an expert on toys in the slightest, but some of them looked expensive. The other room however was full of clothes all over the floor, and tons of makeup. This she knew wasn't cheap. She was sure that it belonged to the twins. Since she knew that Izuku slept in the attic, she played dumb and got good looks into the rooms, asking which one was Izuku's since the only other room was a bathroom down this hallway.

Ms. Chiaki simply chuckled as she pulled the hanging string bringing down the attic ladder. "Neither, it's up here. I wouldn't waste more money than I have to on that villain.

Tsukauchi climbed into the attic and her heart instantly dropped. The attic was barely insulated, I was just enough to keep it from being absolutely freezing. In other words. Warm enough to not be lethal, but cold enough to never be comfortable in the winter, was most likely excruciatingly hot in the summer. She guessed the floor of the attic was insulated though to keep the rest of the house comfortable.

Looking around there was a ton of things up here that obviously didn't belong to Izuku, it was nothing but stored possessions.

"His crap is in the corner over there." She said, gesturing towards said corner.

All that was there was a thin ratty blanket, literally only a couple of extra outfits that looked old, and an old backpack. After searching it, it only had the bare minimum amount of school supplies. All looking like he had to scrounge them up and kept them useful as long as possible, including a few pencils that were ground down to half and inch away from the eraser. 'He's had to scrounge up food. Why should I have thought he'd have half decent supplies.' She thought.

After grabbing his stuff for "evidence" in case there was any sentimental items here, they left the attic. They talked for a bit more, with Tsukauchi getting the names of the neighbors and school staff that either had info or helped her, she was shocked when Ms. Chiaki gave her info about some local police officers who would "help keep Izuku in his place." After everything that happened last time, POLICE officers were helping in making Izuku's life hell. She didn't care how much damage to people's view of police and social care will be received. She was going to bring ALL these people down.

Tsukauchi gave everyone a farewell and commended them one last time before leaving the house. Another lesson she got from her mother. Don't let the obvious offending party know that you know their guilty until it's time to strike. That way they have less time to build a proper defense.

Looking at the long list she realizes to get this done anytime soon, she will need to bring in help. She knows of a few other detectives who are sympathetic to Izuku from last time, or at least would jump at the chance to soften the blow they receive from the inevitable backlash that will come from this case.

Tsukauchi got in her care and looked at her watch. She had spent 45 minutes in there, with most of it her listening to them tell lies and essentially bragging about abusing Izuku. Before she continued with the investigation, she figured it best to let loose some pent-up rage she felt. Her blood was absolutely boiling with rage, so she decided to head home and let loose on her punching bag. She'll make some phone calls once she's done.

* * *

15 minutes ago

Mei and her mother were sitting in her hospital room, after getting her mother to stop fretting over her they talked about what happened. The more Mrs. Hatsume listened the more she realized that she needed to get her daughter a taser. Or mace. Or both. Both was good.

After Mei told her mom what happened she immediately went into a tangent about the babies She was going to make for Izuku, and even coming up with more idea on things to help him become a hero. During Which Mrs. Hatsume was able to piece together Izuku wasn't an official hero, but was someone who wanted to be one.

It also broke her heart hearing about the condition the boy is in. She subtly clenched her fist. It was obvious he was being neglected, if not worse, at home. She couldn't even imagine what kind of heartless monster could do that to a child.

Whenever Mei talked about her inventions it wasn't easy to get her to stop, and it was harder to get a word in unless you were helping come up with ideas. Which her parents were happy to do since they were both gear heads themselves. But there was a couple of things that Mrs. Hatsume noticed that was different this time.

First was that Mei had yet to once talk about the things that she had already developed. Everything she talked about would have to be built, which isn't a problem, but it was completely out of character for her. She and her husband have been trying to teach her to look past her own inventions. Like with that Iida boy. Tensei, AKA Ingenium, came to their shop looking for something to help with his sisters training by improving the muffler in her legs. Mei tried to get him to take her Jet pack. It took them 10 minutes to get him off the ceiling after she strapped it to him and turned it on. They were thankful he was ok and was nice enough to not press charges.

The second was some inventions she was talking about. They're sounding more like gadgets to help someone rehabilitate, and to keep an eye on their health. Nothing wrong with that, but Mei usually made things to help in battle, or rescue operations. She said everything else was just to boring.

Mrs. Hatsume continued to listen to her daughter talk about a "baby" she had in mind. It was to help his heart. Instantly it hit her, and she started giving a teasing smile.

"Mei." Said Mrs. Hatsume.

"...and it gets trapped to the chest to monitor the heart rate..." Said Mei, still in idea mode.

"Mei!" Repeated Mrs. Hatsume.

"...and thanks to that it will help keep the heart rate at safe levels." Continued Mei.

Mrs. Hatsume simply place her hand over her daughters mouth. "*sigh* I swear, you and your father get way to stuck in your own heads."

Mei glared at her mom. "Yeah, well at least neither of us have beaned you in the head with a wrench."

"Hey! I only did that 9 times... to your father." Replied Mrs. Hatsume, getting sheepish towards the end.

"Yeah and to me 4 times. I'm just glad I got dads thick skull." Said Mei exasperated.

"Ok, getting off-topic. Tell me, how do you feel about Izuku?" She said, regaining the smile.

Mei started poking her index fingers together, with a bit of a blush on her face. "Well I respect him. He's kind, and smart, and When I talked about my babies he didn't look at me like I was some kind of freak" Mei smiled bashfully but truly happy. "In fact he looked like he really respected my drive. He had no reason to help me, but he did anyways."

'I haven't even met him and I'm already liking this boy.' Thought Mrs. Hatsume. "And what about that crush you have on him?"

Mei's blush grew as she looked away pouting. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Hahahahah. Sweetie, don't even bother trying to hide it. It's written all over your face." Laughed Mrs. Hatsume.

Mei pouted for a little longer before looking at her mother. "Fine. It's just he seems like a real good guy. I can't help but feel attracted to him."

Mrs. Hatsume gave Mei a motherly smile. 'Well it's good to know she doesn't go after someone for their quirk or body.' She thought. "Well in that case let me give you some advice." Mei looked at her hopeful. "Don't try to go out with him yet."

Mei gave her mother a confused, almost angry look. "Aren't you supposed to tell me to go after what my heart wants? I mean come on, this is my first crush, and now you tell me not try to date him?"

Mrs. Hatsume chuckled. "Yeah, me and your father started to think you were mechasexual or something." Mei scowled at her. "But I'm not telling you to not go after him. I'm telling you to wait."

Mei just looked at her completely confused. "Why?"

"Well for one, it's always good to get to know someone before you date them for one." Said Mrs. Hatsume as she flicked Mei's nose. "But more importantly, it's because he helped you." Now Mei looked completely lost. "This feeling you have could be a form of hero worship, and if it is, it could turn your relationship sour. So to avoid as much pain as possible, wait until you know for a fact that your feelings are real. Besides, you can still be friends in the meantime."

Mei looked down thoughtfully. "How long should I wait?" She asked.

"I can't tell you that, if these feelings are real, or they do evolve into a true crush, or even love, then only you will know. Just don't rush things." Said Mrs. Hatsume in a loving motherly tone.

Mei continued to look thoughtful for a few seconds before nodding her head. "Ok, I'll wait." She said earnestly. Her mother wrapped her in a hug that she returned.

"Thank you mom."

"Of course dear."

All of a sudden the door swings open and in walked Shoka and Mr. Hatsume. Mr. Hatsume was carrying the bags of food while Shoka had the drinks and a sleeping bag flung over her shoulder, looking like it had several items inside. She looked really annoyed.

Mrs. Hatsume checked the time on her phone. "What took so long?"

"Traffic." Grumbled Shoka.

"It was pretty bad. It was like every driver decided to leave at the exact same time." Said Mr. Hatsume with a smile and giant sweat drop. It wasn't a bad trip, Shoka was good company when she's out of her shell, but the slower traffic got, the more her grumpy side showed itself.

Mei and Mrs. Hatsume both stood up, Mei grabbing the drinks from Shoka on her way. "Let me get that for you."

Shoka smiled. "Thanks. You guys sure you don't want to wait until you're done eating to talk to Izuku?"

Mei just walked towards the door. "I'm not sure about my parents but I want to see Izuku. We have more babies we need to discuss." She said happily.

Mr. and Mrs. Hatsume followed their daughter, Shoka not far behind. "We still need to thank him ourselves." Said Mrs. Hatsume walking next to her daughter. "Plus it would be good to get to know him if our daughter plans to have him around." She said as she elbowed her daughter teasingly.

Shoka smiled as she watched the family interact. It reminded her a bit of her and her family. She may act serious most of the time, but that didn't mean she didn't tease her younger brother, or get embarrassed by her mother.

The Hatsume's stopped at Izuku's door, letting Shoka go in first to not startle the boy. She stepped in front of the door, and turned to them. "I'm going to warn you again, what you see isn't going to see won't be easy to take in." Mr. and Mrs. Hatsume just gave her determined reassuring smiles.

Shoka turned back around and was about to knock on the door when they heard yelling.

"LET ME GO! PLEASE, I'M SORRY!"

It was Izuku.

Shoka quickly put her sleeping bag on the ground and burst through the door, praying that his foster family wasn't the one's in there, hurting him.

Mei was about to follow before she was stopped by her father. "No. Stay here." He said as he quickly gave the food to his wife.

"But dad..." Started Hatsume, but was stopped by her father giving her the stop signal.

"No buts. Stay here." He said, giving her a firm look that left no room for argument. Mei gave a nod of Acknowledgment as they all heard the loud rapid beeping of a heart monitor, and Shoka yelling. "What the hell are you doing!" Mr. Hatsume quickly ran into the room.

Mei was extremely worried as to what was happening.

"God it's such a turn on when he gets like this." Said Mrs. Hatsume breathlessly.

Mei's head quickly snapped to her mother. "MOM! GROSS!"


	6. Chapter 5 Here For You

A/N** So. Many. Synonyms. I swear I'm trying to write these chapters faster, but I had so many cases of things not rolling off the tongue right. I literally spent half an hour trying to fix one sentence. I want everything to be as top quality as possible. Well at least as best as I can make it. As a reward for your patience, I will drop a small spoiler of the next chapter in the end notes. If you don't want to know it, just skip it. Oh and i'll start including links to images of how I'm imagining the genderbent characters in the notes. I'll leave it here since there will be a spoiler in the end notes.**

**Eraserhead  
pin/523684262904398921/**

**Tsukauchi  
/c/my-hero-academia/page/blog/hbd-tsukauchi-makoto-3-3/JmRR_jQTduwd1R114MEngq7Kxe3DNeJqw3?_gl=1*ijp4b2*_ga*YW1wLTc0TzhkRGI4SDktaTlSNkhZLXR6UWgwUmxNZC0zSDZoRE9TVDduUUpXbk9QX0Jiakl4UmJhTnZiR3JEZUp4VEY.#media-c48511ae**

**All Might  
pin/746964288170579188/**

**More will be provided in the chapters following their first appearance.**

* * *

DSpaceZ - Due to issues in the past directly related to Izuku's first case, people don't blindly trust heroes in this AU, which will be explained later.

Wijmaids0 - thank you for the support! there will be story reasons which is somewhat explained in this chapter. but mostly it's to fit the backstory I wrote. 90% of the population is female, and since a somewhat cure wasn't developed until 30 years prior, a majority of anyone over 29 will be female. and yeah i did do some alterations on Aizawa's character making her feel more like an original character, while I like Aizawa (though do have few issues with him.), he wasn't what i wasn't what i needed or wanted for this story.

MasterBlade47 - I'm glad you like it! And I agree, IzuMei is one of my favorites too.

DarkPaladin89 - I'm happy you enjoy it! I will warn you, I haven't gotten to the really bad stuff. this story will get DARK at times, but i will provide warnings, and balance it out with fluff and lemons.

Bastidaswilliam2005 - *evil laughter* excellent, my plan worked perfectly lol. but honestly, thank you for the support. I will be nice and reveal that there are several characters Izuku's age that will be genderbent, Kirishima being one of them. And Izuku will have a harem, how massive depends on how long people want this story to go on, though I do have plans for a majority of them. I will be honest, I haven't fully decided on what to do with one for all, but I am leaning towards giving it to Izuku still, mostly because of the massive hinderance I put on his quirk, and several plans I have for this story. But i will consider you're idea of giving it to Melissa.

* * *

Shoka burst through the hospital room door, holding her scarf, ready to face whoever might be harming Izuku.

Or at least she thought she was.

What she saw gave her pause. While she was still angered by the sight in front of her, she had to be smart about her actions. What she saw was 2 young male nurses holding down a struggling Izuku, and an older male doctor trying to put restraints on the thrashing Izuku.

Still attempting to put a restraint around Izuku's hand, the doctor notices Shoka enter the room. "Ah good, you're a hero right? Help us hold him down."

Izuku was struggling with all his might, like he was fighting for his very life. That's probably why they were having so much trouble keeping him down. And by the looks of it, they already strapped his right arm to the bed. By the looks of that arm, he's been trying with all his might to get free from it.

Shoka's worry skyrocketed when she finally processed the loud rapid beeping of his heart monitor, it was way too high for someone in his condition. He's already had his heart stop once today. She won't allow it to happen again.

Shoka launched her scarf at the three of them, wrapping them all up, making sure to bind their arms in the process. As soon as she had them, she pulled back with all her might. The two nurses had landed on their butts, while the doctor, having been the furthest from Shoka, pretty much want flying and landed on his side.

"What the hell?! Have you lost your damn mind!?" Screamed the doctor. Shoka didn't pay him any mind as she looked towards Izuku, who was already frantically trying to get out of the restraint. He looked absolutely terrified, and tears streamed down his face. It seems that in his terror he hasn't understood yet that he could undo the restraint as he pulled his arm desperately.

Shoka looked to the doctor and nurses, face full of fury. All three of them recoiled back from her in fright. "What the hell are you doing!?" Yelled Shoka.

At this point Mr. Hatsume rushed through the open door. "What's happening?" He said as he looked around, seeing Shoka have three people restrained in her scarf. His eyes widened in shock as he looked at Izuku, noticing he is skin and bones. He knew Shoka warned them, and she was right. No amount of preparation could ever ready you for the sight. It was only made worse by the boy struggling in terror.

"Please help release him." Says Shoka to Mr. Hatsume as she continued to keep an eye on the three.

Mr. Hatsume nodded his head, and rushed towards Izuku.

"No you idiots. That's a villain, he needs to be restrained!" Yelled the doctor.

Shoka's fury just grew tenfold. She was about to yell at the bastard when she heard Izuku yell.

"NO, PLEASE! NOT AGAIN! LEAVE ME ALONE!" Screamed Izuku.

Shoka's head snapped towards Izuku and saw him struggling harder while trying to get as far away from Mr. Hatsume as possible. While Mr. Hatsume put his hands up and took a step back.

"What happened?" Asked Shoka.

"I don't know. He just started freaking out more when I got close. He screamed when I touched him." Said Mr. Hatsume, worry clear on his face.

Right then Izuku was able to pull his hand free of the restraint, but the damage was obvious blood slowly leaked from his wrist and hand. Only Izuku paid it no mind, as he got off the bed and back away from everyone, while pulling everything attached to him of, like they were going to hurt him.

"Damn it he's free! Let me go this instant! We need to restrain him, he's dangerous!" Yelled the doctor.

Concern over Izuku outweighed Shoka's anger at the doctor as she saw Izuku reach for the IV in his arm. "Izuku stop!" Yelled Shoka. As she and Mr. Hatsume both tried to stop him.

It was too late. Izuku didn't listen as he ripped the IV out of his arm. Blood started to stream down his arm. Yet all he did was back away in fear before his back hit the wall, and he slid down it, getting into the fetal position, putting his hands to the side of his head, getting blood on his face and in his hair, as he started rocking back and forth.

Mr. Hatsume was the first to reach him, and as soon as he even touched him Izuku tried backing away in fear, then attempted to run away from him again. Only to be stopped by Shoka as she pulled out a cloth she keeps on her in her first aid bag. "It's ok Izuku, we're not here to hurt you." She said, as He went back the fetal position, but Shoka kept his bleeding arm extended. She found it strange that he didn't seem afraid of her as she did what she could to try to stop the bleeding. But he was terrified of Mr. Hatsume.

Shoka glared at Mr. Hatsume as she patched up Izuku. "What did you do?! Why is he scared of you?!" She asked enraged.

Mr. Hatsume had backed away form Izuku again. "I don't know! All I did was touch him!" He said frantically, trying to think of anything he did to make Izuku so afraid of him. He glanced at Izuku's still bleeding hand, and the cloth Shoka still had covering his arm. It was getting redder by the second as it absorbed more and more blood. "Okubo! Mei! Get a doctor or nurse! Tell them it's an emergency, and there is a lot of blood!"

He pretty much felt the worry coming from outside the door, and he heard rapid footstep leading away from the room. He didn't hear the footsteps coming closer.

Shoka's anxiety grew by the second. Not only was Izuku bleeding badly despite her effort to stop it. Izuku was still in panic mode. He was hyperventilating, and has a disassociated look. A look she was very familiar with. One she's seen on many victims. She knew that Izuku wasn't here in the hospital with them. He was back with Murisaki. She worried that if he didn't calm down, his heart would give out again. But she couldn't let up on suppressing the bleeping, she had to be strong for him.

"Mei! I told you to go find help!" Shoka heard Mr. Hatsume yell. She took a look behind her and saw Mei standing in the doorway, hands covering her mouth, and a look of fear.

All of a sudden Shoka had an idea. "I'm sorry Hatsume." She said quickly. "Mei if you're not squeamish with blood I could use your help!" She yelled back as she put her focus back on Izuku.

Mei didn't need to be asked twice, as she rushed over to them, not even paying attention to the 3 men who were struggling to get out of the binding. Mr. Hatsume was reluctant to let Mei help, but he knew any protests he made would fall on deaf ears. Besides, this was a dire situation. The more hands the better.

"What can I do." Asked Mei as she knelt in front of Izuku, next to Shoka.

"Keep pressure on his arm. Do not let up." Ordered Shoka. Mei was quick to grab hold of the cloth almost completely red, with only the edges being white at this point, and applying pressure just as Shoka had been doing, who was relieved that Izuku wasn't struggling against her. The two of them quickly repositioned so Mei could be where she was needed.

Before Shoka could attempt to calm him down, she needed to at least slow down the bleeding. She pulled out a roll of gauze out of her first aid bag and tightly tied it around his arm just above his bicep. It wasn't a permanent solution, heck it wasn't even a safe one, but it's the best she can do right now.

Shoka gently brought her hands up to gently caress Izuku's cheeks. Ignoring how she smeared more blood on Izuku's face, and Izuku flinching at her touch. Izuku looked at her, but he obviously wasn't seeing her. "Izuku it's ok. Nobody's going to hurt you. I'll make sure of it. Please, you need to calm down." She said gently.

Mr. Hatsume stood there feeling completely useless as he watched Shoka trying to calm down Izuku, and his daughter trying to stop the bleeding, looking ready to break down at any second. Yet he stood there, unable to do anything. 'Why is he so freaked out by me?' He wondered solemnly. He turned around as he heard footsteps approaching from behind.

Shoka was feeling a little relieved when she saw that Izuku's hyperventilating was slowing down, and he became more aware of what was going on. "Get out of the way now, before I call security and have you arrested! We need to restrain him before he hurts someone!" Came the voice of the doctor. Izuku immediately went back into full panic.

Shoka was absolutely livid, she turned around ready to scream at the doctor, but stayed quiet as she saw Mr. Hatsume towering over not just the doctor but the two nurses that stood behind him. The rage was coming off Mr. Hatsume in waves. "What the hell is wrong with you?! Haven't you done enough damage!? The kid did nothing wrong!" Bellowed Mr. Hatsume.

The nurses took a step back in fright of the large man, but while scared, the doctor stood his ground. "I have done no such thing, he did it to himself. Now get out of the way! I need to protect my hospital!" The doctor yelled back.

"What the hell are you talking about!? You aren't protecting anyone! You're just terrorizing a kid who's not only been through hell, and is unable to fight back!" Yelled Mr. Hatsume as his face turned redder with rage.

"Unable to protect himself?! Are you a buffoon or just ignorant?! Don't you know who that is?!"

"I know exactly who he is! And who he is doesn't give you any right to judge him or do what you were doing!"

"It gives me every right! I will defend this hospital from that villain!" Yelled the doctor. Before he had his shirt grabbed by Mr. Hatsume and was effortlessly lifted off the ground.

"Now listen here you Pompous..." started Mr. Hatsume.

"ENOUGH!" Came a voice from doorway, silencing the shouting match. Everyone turned and saw it was Recovery Girl, having come to investigate the noise. "What is going on in here?" She asked as she scanned the room, until her eyes landed on Shoka and Mei leaning in front of Izuku who is huddled next to the wall. Her eyes widened in shock when she noticed the blood.

"Oh thank god, Dr. Shuzenji call the cops to arrest these people out so restrain the villain." Said the doctor, before noticing Recovery Girl running towards Izuku. "What are you doing?"

Recovery Girl ignited him as she reached Izuku. Taking note of his hurt hand and the cloth Mei was holding against his arm was completely red and had blood slowly streaming down from it. He also was still hyperventilating but not as bad as earlier, as his focus seemed to be entirely on Mr. Hatsume. "What happened here?" She asked.

"Long story short, that asshole of a doctor was restraining Izuku to the bed despite his obvious panic about it. After getting them off, Izuku got free of the restraint that was on his hand. Then once free he ripped everything off, including the IV." Said Shoka quickly.

They all ignored the "Hey!" From the doctor when Shoka called him an asshole, aside from Mr. Hatsume who growled at him, keeping him suspended and in the air away from them, and made sure the nurses didn't try to do anything either.

"He must have ripped the vein when he ripped the IV out. Damn it, we don't have time to stitch him up. I'm going to have to use my quirk." Said Recovery Girl.

Shoka looked at her surprised. "You know how risky that is." She almost shouted.

"I do. But you know as well as I do, sometimes you don't have a choice." She said as she grabbed a small handful of her special gummy's from her pocket, and shoved them in Izuku's mouth. Thankfully he didn't resist and subconsciously started to chew, but Recovery Girl forced him to chew faster, then rubbed his throat to get him to swallow.

Barely even a second after Izuku swallowed the gummy's, Recovery girl used her quirk on his heavily bleeding arm. Shoka and Recovery Girl were both silently praying, while Mei watched with bated breaths as they watched his arm glow green.

As soon as the glowing faded Recovery Girl moved Mei's hand, which she did reluctantly. Recover Girl took off the cloth, and thank god the bleeding had stopped. All three of them let out the breath's they were all holding.

Until Shoka and Recovery Girl noticed that Izuku's eyes were closed, and he wasn't moving. Shoka quickly placed her head against his chest, and once again let out a sigh of relief as she heard his heart beat, and he was breathing. It was shallow, but at least it was something. Prompting Recovery Girl to fall to her butt in relief. Mei let the tears she's been holding back finally fall.

All of their moods immediately soured again when they heard the voice of the doctor. "There he's healed, now let's get that villain restrained." He demanded.

A murderous aura flowed from all four of them. They all slowly turned their heads towards him, and he immediately felt overwhelming terror and started sweating bullets.

"That's it! I'm tired of hearing your garbage!" Said Mr. Hatsume as he cocked a fist back. The doctor immediately moved his hands to defend his face.

"Stop!" Yelled Shoka.

"And why should I? You know he deserves it!" He said, barely containing his fury.

"Yes he does. And I'd like nothing more than to beat his ass til next week. But that won't accomplish anything. Besides, I don't want you getting in trouble for this, or Izuku waking up and being more afraid of you."

Mr. Hatsume looked at Shoka for a couple seconds, then to Mei who looked concerned, before looking back to the doctor, looking like he's deciding if he should listen to her, weighing the cons to the satisfaction of knocking the guys teeth out. His logical side won as she slowly put the doctor down. "Damn it you're right."

The doctor let out a sigh of relief before straightening out his cloths. "So the brute can see reason." He said condescendingly, making Mr. Hatsume already regretting not kicking his ass, and Shoka for not letting him. Then he gestured to the two nurses to follow him. "Now let's do what we came to do."

Shoka quickly reclaimed her capture scarf that was on the floor nearby and retied the doctor and nurses again. "That does NOT mean I'm not going to make sure you don't pay for what you did!" She said angrily.

"And what would that be huh? My job? I'm just protecting our patients and staff from this monster!" Said the doctor.

"Is that what you call breaking not just procedure, but the law as well by illegally tying up a patient who has committed no crime Dr. Kuri?" Came a male voice from the doorway. They all turned to see a male doctor that seemed to be in his mid forties with neon blue hair, followed by Mrs. Hatsume and 3 nurses. The nurses carried the what looked to be supplies needed for a blood transfusion. "Or at least that's what I've heard so far. Any more charges I should know about?" He said as he walked into the room.

Mrs. Hatsume quickly made her way to her husband and daughter. Gasping as she noticed Izuku's form slumped up against the wall, blood on his hospital gown, arms and face, along with the injury on his hand. It was a horrifying sight to see. And it was made worse by his pre-existing condition. Tears immediately started to fall from her eyes.

Mr. Hastume wastes no time wrapping his arms around both his wife, trying to calm her, and his daughter, trying to console her. "Come on. Let's let these guys sort this out." He said softly.

"But dad, I want to make sure Izuku is ok." Complained Mei.

The new doctor made his way towards Mei stopping a couple feet from her. "It's going to be ok young lady. I promise to do everything I can to help him. Besides, it's probably best if you got yourself cleaned up." He said in a soothing voice, gesturing to her hands.

Mei relaxed slightly after hearing the doctor. She still wanted to argue but got a good look at her hands. They were covered in Izuku's drying blood. She nodded her head, and let her father guide her out of the room. Mr. Hatsume had to get his wife out of the daze she found herself in, but he gently ushered them out, with everyone staying quiet as he did.

As soon as the door shut behind them, the new doctor snapped into action. "Get the transfusion ready." He ordered as he walked over to Izuku. He gently picked him up and set him In the bed. The nurses work diligently to get everything ready, including cleaning the blood off Izuku.

"Dr. Kyoji you need to bind him. That's a villain. We can't give him the chance to do as he pleases." Said Dr. Kuri.

Anger flowed off of Recovery Girl and Shoka, as Shoka tightened the binding. "Recovery Girl, could you please take over?" Came the voice of Dr. Kyoji.

She looked towards him and saw he looked angry himself. "Of course." She replied as she to work on Izuku, with one of the nurses cleaning him up and dressing the wound on his hand, as the others got the supplies ready.

Dr. Kyoji stepped toward Dr. Kuri. "I don't know how you could think this young man is a villain, but even if he was, it doesn't give you the right to illegally detain him. You know we're only allowed to do that with medical justification, only police and heroes are allowed to detain criminals, which this boy is not. And from what I can gather, you're the cause of his injuries. Care to explain yourself?" Scolded Dr. Kyoji.

"Dr. That is Izuku Midoriya. He..." started to argue Dr. Kuri.

"I know exactly who he is." Interrupted Dr. Kyoji. "And if that is your only reason or argument then it seems we have a lot to talk to the board about."

"I was protecting my hospital." Said Dr. Kuri.

"Last I checked, I'm the head doctor here, so this is MY hospital." Said Dr. Kyoji, before turning back to recovery Girl who was sterilizing Izuku's arm. "I trust you can handle it from here Recovery Girl?"

Recovery Girl didn't even take her eyes off of what she was doing. "Yes."

Dr. Kyoji Nodded. "If you could please release them Eraserhead?" Shoka was reluctant, but upon seeing the defeated look of Kuri and the scared looks of the nurses, she released them. "Thank you. Now you three, follow me, or do I need to call security to help escort you?"

Shoka watched as the three shook their heads and followed Dr. Kyoji out of the room, before diverting her attention back to Izuku as Recovery Girl put the needle in his arm for the transfusion. "Is he going to be ok?" She asked, barely keeping her voice from cracking.

Recovery Girl sighed. "Yes, he's going to need some rest though." She turned to one of the nurses and asked them to get a new IV, and turned towards Shoka. "Now what happened? I know you already told me, but why did Izuku rip out the last IV?"

Shoka looked at Izuku sadly. "I couldn't tell you the exact reason, but he looked absolutely terrified. When I showed up the nurses were holding him down while that douche was trying to strap his other arm." She paused as they both looked at his now dressed injured hand and wrist. Simple injuries usually disappear with his quirk, but they didn't even look faded. It proves how hard he struggled. "When he finally got free he started ripping everything off his body. He was acting like they were hurting him. Or going to at least."

Recovery Girl looked back towards Izuku. "He was back THERE, wasn't he?" She asked, almost scared to even bring where around him.

"Yes." Said Shoka in near a whisper.

The two stood silent. The beeping of his heart monitor being the only sound. Both suppressing even guesses to the horrors Izuku was reliving, because they both knew their hearts couldn't bear the thought. Eventually Shoka broke the silence. "How long do you think it will be before he wakes up?"

"I don't know. While I gave him a handful of my gummy's, it only offsets my quirk, and it's not like they work instantly. The problem is the blood loss and mental fatigue, combined with the lost stamina. He could wake up in a few minutes to a few days." Said Recovery Girl solemnly.

Shoka slowly grabbed a chair and sat next to Izuku's bed, grabbing his hand as she sat there quietly watching him. Recovery Girl watched the scene for a little while before silently leaving the room.

Down the hall Mr. And Mrs. Hatsume were standing in the hall right outside a bathroom where Mei was cleaning up. Though with how long she's been in there, they could only imagine what's going through her head right now.

Mr. Hatsume has just finished explaining not just what happened, but who Izuku was. Mrs. Hatsume stood there horrified by what she just heard. She had no idea what to even think, let alone do. What would you even do if you met a victim of such a nightmare. "Are... Are you sure it's him?" She asked.

Mr. Hatsume just nodded his head silently.

Mrs. Hatsume ran her hand through her hair as she tried wrapping her head around the whole thing. "Does Mei know?"

"I think she had an idea his current circumstance, at least about what we know of it, but I doubt she knows about Murisaki." Said Mr. Hatsume as he looked towards the bathroom Mei was in. "Do you think we should tell her?"

Mrs. Hatsume thought about the question before answering. "No, I don't think so. She's already dealt with a lot today, I doubt it would do her any good to add more to the pile."

"You're probably right. Besides, it might be best that their relationship if Izuku tells her himself when he's ready."

"True." She said before shifting her attention to the bathroom. "She's been in there for a while. I'm going to check on her."

As if on cue, Mei walked out of the bathroom. Her eyes were red and puffy. It didn't take a genius to know what she was doing. Mei's parents immediately enveloped her in another hug. One she was able to return and did. "It's ok, I'm fine."

Mrs. Hatsume caressed Mei's face. "Are you sure baby? You've had a really tough day."

"I'm sure. Besides, it hasn't been as bad as Izuku's. Can we go back and see him?" Asked Mei.

Both her patently softly smiled at her. "As long as we're allowed." Said Mr. Hatsume. He then looked towards Izuku's room with an angry expression. "I hope that sad excuse for a doctor gets his license revoked."

"If by license revoked you mean get beaten black and blue, then I agree." Said Mrs. Hatsume as she started walking towards Izuku's room. With Mr. Hatsume walking next to her, and Mei lagging behind both of them deep in thought on what happened.

'So that's why Izuku was surprised when I didn't call him a villain. How could anyone think someone's a villain just because of their quirk?' She thought sadly. Then she felt a huge wave a determination. 'I will stand by your side Izuku, and my babies will help you become the hero I know you are.'

As they reached the door, they noticed everything was still out in the hallway. Mei picked up the food real quick before knocking on the door, as her parents picked up the rest. They heard something fall to the floor as Shoka asked through the door. "Who is it?"

"It's me Mei, and my parents are here to."

Shortly after her reply the door cracked open slightly, and Shoka peeked through. After confirming it was them, she opened the door the rest of the way. "Sorry, I'm a little on edge." She proceeded to walk back over to Izuku's bed, pick up the chair she knocked over and sat back down as she was before, holding Izuku's hand again.

"We understand after what happened earlier. From now on, we'll make sure nobody messes with Izuku." Replied Mrs. Hatsume as she set the drinks down on the table.

Shoka looked at her confused. "We?" She asked, before noticing they brought everything from the hallway inside. In the chaos she forgot all about it.

"Of course. You didn't think we'd just hightail it out of here after what happened did you?" Asked Mr. Hatsume, carefully placing Shoka's stuff in a corner of the room.

"Honestly? Yes. More often than not, people leave when things get difficult." Said Shoka sadly as she rubbed her thumb on the back of Izuku's hand.

Mrs. Hatsume huffed and crossed her arms, pouting at Shoka. She stood there like that for all of two seconds before sighing and dropping her arms, drooping forward. "Yeah, I guess that's true. Can't exactly blame you for thinking that."

Mei grabbed another of the chairs and placed it next to Izuku opposite of Shoka. "So how is he?" She asked, obviously worried about the answer.

"He's ok, but they're not sure when he'll wake up." Replied Shoka. She looked up at Mei and noticed her anguish. "Hey, he'll be fine. He's tough, probably the toughest person the whole world over, and he'll be up before we know it." She said with a caring smile, though her words felt they were meant just as much for herself as they were for Mei. But Mei nodded with a smile of her own all the same.

Her parents watched with caring smiles.

They quickly sorted the food, and handed Mei's and Shoka's theirs first. "Sorry, I know it's cold and the drink is watered down, but we should get something on our stomachs." Said Mr. Hatsume handing Shoka hers.

Shoka took the food gratefully. "Thank you." In all honesty, with everything that's happened so far, she had lost her appetite. But she felt it would be best to get something on her stomach, starving herself wasn't going to solve anything.

Just as she started unwrapping her food Izuku started moving and groaning. Shoka and Mei quickly stood up as they looked down at him. Izuku slowly opened his eye's trying to process where he's at, before his eyes bolted open, and he shot up real quick. "I'm sorry for falling asleep! I'll finish my chores!" He said real quick, as she tried getting out of bed. Only for Shoka and Mei to stop him.

"Izuku, it's ok. You're not at Chiaki's, and you won't be there ever again. You're currently in the hospital." Said Shoka Soothingly.

Izuku looked around as he felt his energy quickly dropping til he was barely able to hold his body weight up. He slowly laid back down. He wasn't used to relaxing, and honestly was still unsure if he could trust Shoka. Right as his head hit the pillow he remembered everything that happened earlier. "S-sorry for causing so much trouble." He said dejected.

Mei quickly hugged Izuku, startling him, though he slowly relaxed. "It's not your fault, I'm- we're just glad you're ok." She said quickly correcting herself, still holding onto him.

Izuku was still stunned by the hug, but he couldn't lie. It felt good, it's been so long since someone held him in such a tender, caring embrace. It brought such a warm feeling to him. The strange thing is though, he felt something else inside him to, it felt like kind of energy. He also couldn't get a number out of his head that was slowly rising. It felt familiar, but he couldn't remember from where.

The three adults watched the scene with smiles on their faces. The two separated, with Mei sitting back in the chair, Mr. Hatsume took that as his cue to approach Izuku with his food. Mr. Hatsume expertly hid the hurt he felt when Izuku slightly recoiled away from him. He was worried that Izuku might still be afraid of him, and felt relieved when he visibly relaxed. "Sorry, that it's cold" he said gently.

Izuku looked at the bag he recognized as a fast food bag, then back to Mr. Hatsume who hadn't moved and kept smiling at him. He repeated that pattern a couple of times. "Do you need me to heat it up for you?" He asked as he reached for the bag.

Mr. Hatsume chuckled. "I should be asking you that. It's yours after all." He didn't make a single move towards Izuku as to not scare him.

Izuku stopped short of grabbing the bag, and looked at Mr. Hatsume surprised. "It's for me?" He asked, shock clear on his face.

Mr. Hatsume merely nodded at him. Izuku stayed that way for a couple seconds before slowly grabbing the bag, Mr. Hatsume went back to grab his right after. Izuku placed the bag on his lap and leaned back a little, jumping slightly as he noticed the head of the bed was brought up. Shoka must have done it without him noticing somehow. He was actually fairly impressed by that.

Izuku looked into the bag but quickly looked to everyone else who was just dealing with their own food. They could all see the paranoia he was exhibiting. He looked like he was worried this was some kind of trap, but they ignored it so to not worsen his fear. Shoka didn't have a doubt in her mind that that mindset came from experience.

Izuku finally reached into the bag and pulled out his food, to which he slowly opened. It was a bowl of katsudon. After grabbing his chopsticks he slowly took a bite while watching for everyone else's reactions. He was still afraid of what they might do. Izuku kept watching them as he chewed but started to relax. After he swallowed tears started to fall from his eyes, and he looked down at his lap. Everyone started to worry until they heard him speak a quiet, "Thank you." They silently watched him as Izuku wiped his eyes before digging into his food. It may not have been a gourmet meal, but to Izuku, it was some of the best food he ever remembered eating. It was made better by the kindness he was being shown.

Everyone watched him as he almost shoveled the food into his mouth, making the hunger he must have been feeling obvious. All of them had to suppress the anger that was threatening to be unleashed. The last thing Izuku needs is to think they were angry at him, but people needed to pay for what they did to him. They started eating as they got their anger under control.

The rest of the visit went by pretty well. It took some time for Izuku to open up again, but once the topic of hero's came up, he slowly opened up until they had his undivided attention. It wasn't the only thing they talked about though, they talked about Mei's inventions, the Hatsume's custom car shop, and some of Shoka's hero stories. She obviously stuck to the happier one.

Mr. and Mrs. Hatsume had to leave when visiting hours were over, but they made sure to thank Izuku once again before they left, and even asked if it would be alright if they stopped by again sometime. They were thrilled when he said yes, though not as thrilled as Mei later that night when she was told it was ok to sleep in Izuku's room that night. Some staff members did try to get Shoka to leave after visiting hours, but her hero status allowed her to stay, and they backed off quick enough.

* * *

The next morning

"He did what!?" Screamed Tsukauchi over the phone. Shoka pulled her phone from her ear due to the volume. She was standing in the hall right outside Izuku's room where Izuku and Mei were both still sleeping. She had just finished telling Tsukauchi what happened with the doctor yesterday.

"I'm not repeating it, telling it once again was hard enough. Now please keep it down." Said Shoka annoyed.

"Sorry. It's been extremely stressful." Said Tsukauchi a lot quieter. She wasn't lying about the stress. After questioning Chiaki she went home and let loose on her punching bag. It took her an hour to release enough rage for it to be manageable. After she finished with that; she started making calls to get some help on getting the rest of the statements she was going to need. Though she had to be careful with whom she called given that some police officers were involved as well. Thankfully her chief is a good man and agreed to help her with them. She had to remember to thank him for the help, and for getting all the necessary warrants she needed quickly.

"I know what you mean. It's strange though, I don't think Izuku met Mr. Hatsume until yesterday, yet he seemed terrified of him, yet he was fine with me and Mei."

Tsukauchi sighed. "It's probably because he's a man."

"Huh?" Said Shoka confused. "But he didn't have any problems with facing those punks from yesterday, and they were male."

"That's why I said men, not male. Think about it, Murisaki and all of his associates were men. Something similar happened during the investigation. He had no problem with a male rookie, who was about 18-19 at the time, but one day an adult male police officer approached him to give him something to eat, and Izuku looked scared. Before you ask, yes we investigated him just in case. In his panic, he probably just saw another man who wanted to harm him."

"So his panic was probably made worse with the fact that the doctor and nurses were all men." Deduced Shoka.

"Most likely, but based on what he went through, his panicking was most likely inevitable in that scenario." Said Tsukauchi sadly. "Speaking of those assholes, please tell me they're getting what they deserve." She said furious.

"No. Recovery Girl told me that "because he had 'the patients best interests at heart' they got off with a warning and instructions to never come near Izuku again." She spoke, completely livid. She was deeply regretting not letting Mr. Hatsume beat him black and blue.

"What!?" Yelled Tsukauchi. "What are their names? I'll add them to the list of arrests."

"I'd very much like to know them myself." Came a familiar voice. One that sounded cheerful, but to anyone who knew it, knew that it promised retribution. Shoka turned to see Nezu walking up to her.

"Nezu? What are you doing here?" Asked Shoka.

"Nezu's there?" Asked Tsukauchi.

Nezu stood there silently, merely gesturing for Shoka to continue her phone call.

"Yeah, he just showed up. Sorry but I'll talk to you later Tsukauchi."

"No problem. I have an investigation to lead anyways, but keep me updated." Replied Tsukauchi.

"Of course, as long as you keep me updated as well." Said Shoka. She hung up after getting confirmation, and turned towards Nezu. "So what can I do for you sir?"

"Oh nothing. On the contrary, I'm here to help you and young Midoriya." He said in his usual cheeriness.

"Really? What prompted this?"

Nezu adorned a completely serious look. "Recovery Girl has informed me of yesterday's events, so I thought it best to have someone watch over him. And since you can't do that 24/7, or at least shouldn't, I decided to get a couple volunteers to help."

"Who?" Asked Shoka. At that moment she noticed her colleges, professional heroines and her best friends since their time at UA, Midnight and Present Mic turn the corner walking towards them, only they didn't have their usual smiles. They looked as serious as could be. A look Shoka knew they only had when they meant business.

"Is it true Eraser?" Asked Present Mic as she walked up. "Is it the Midoriya kid again?"

"Yes." Was all Shoka replied with.

"How bad?" Asked Midnight.

Shoka stayed silent, contemplating the best way to answer that question. "Horrifying. While not in the same way as Murisaki, the fact that he's even alive is honestly a miracle." Shoka watched as Midnight and Present Mic both looked ready to end the guilty party. A feeling Shoka has been suppressing since yesterday.

"Whose ass do I need to kick?!" Asked Present Mic, voice full of rage. While she tried not to be loud, in her anger a bit of her quirk slipped out.

Something Shoka was quick to scold, activating her own quirk in the process. "Be quiet, they're sleeping." Shoka whisper yelled.

Present Mic quickly got under control and was a little sheepish at getting loud, before she and midnight fully processed what she just said. They looked at each other with surprise, before turning their gaze back to Shoka. "What do you mean they?" Asked Midnight.

"The girl who he helped protect yesterday stayed with us in his room last night." Said Shoka simply. When she saw the stars in both of their eyes, she knew she messed up. Those two were notorious shippers.

The two quickly rushed to the door and cracked it open slightly to peek inside. Shoka was about to scold them again when she noticed they were dead silent. She was expecting them to squeal or cause a commotion. They slowly closed the door, and Shoka glanced inside and saw that Izuku's blanket wasn't covering his torso, and that thin hospital gown made his condition obvious.

Nezu even managed to catch a glimpse of Izuku before the door was shut, and Present Mic and Midnight turned around with grim expressions. 'Horrifying is a painfully accurate description.' He thought. Nezu clapped his paws to get everyone's attention. "So as you two already know, you're here to help watch over young Midoriya and make sure no more harm comes to him." Midnight and Present Mic gave him a resolute look and nod. "So now that we're all here, I think we should discuss what to do with young Midoriya once he is released."

Shoka scratched the back of her head. "I guess since you bring the topic up, now would be as logical a time to tell you as any." She said gaining their attention, while scratching the back of her head. "I'm going to adopt him."

Nezu's smile widened at Shoka, while Midnight and Present Mic went bug-eyed. "WH-!" Started Present Mic before Midnight quickly slapped a hand on her mouth, shutting her up.

"What do you mean you're going to adopt him?" Asked Midnight, as Present Mic rapidly nodded her head.

"Exactly that. I'm not going to trust another foster home with him. He's been through enough, and deserves to have someone to help and care for him."

Present Mic moved Midnight's hand off her mouth. "Are you sure you're up for that?"

Shoka glared at her. "What? Do you think I can't do it?"

Present Mic raised her hands in front her. "I didn't mean it like that. I just mean, you already spread yourself pretty thin, and you don't exactly live the healthiest lifestyle. Raising a kid, or teen in this case, is no simple task, especially those that have gone through what Izuku has."

Shoka continued to glare at her before sighing. "You're right. But I'm not going to change my mind. I'll just have to do better for him." She spoke with conviction.

Nezu couldn't help smiling widely. 'Seems like this will be beneficial for everyone.' He thought. "I believe adopting him is a brilliant idea Eraserhead. It actually helps make what I had planned much easier." The other three looked at him questioningly.

"What was your idea sir?" Asked Midnight.

"I was already planning on trying to convince and help young Midoriya get emancipated, then get him move into U.A., that way he had plenty of heroes to help him as needed. I already have several volunteers from the staff. But with the adoption we can skip a lot of the difficulties, including building him his own place, and have them move into the family apartments." Replied Nezu in his usual chipper tone.

"You were really ready to do all of that?" Asked Present Mic.

"Of course. As Eraserhead stated, we can't exactly trust the foster system to care for him, and nurture him, let alone into the hero he wants to become." Said Nezu.

"How did you know he wants to be a hero?" Asked Shoka.

"Your report. I believe it said he helped Miss Hatsume because 'she needed help.' Now that sounds like a hero to me." Shoka smiled at the comment. "Now, since you will be adopting Midoriya, you will have to be monitored. Nothing to major, just the occasional visit and inspection."

"Now hold on sir, you know she wouldn't do anything to him." Argues Present Mic.

"Yes I do."

"Then why are you treating him like you can't trust her?" Replied Midnight.

Before Nezu could respond, Shoka spoke up. "I understand Nezu." Midnight and Present Mic looked at Shoka dumbfounded. "Think about it. Midoriya's history of guardians has been horrendous at best, and his experience with heroes has been so bad, he can't even trust them anymore. Actually he's weary of everyone, and expects nothing but the worst. So not only would the monitoring appease any public outcry that will no doubt happen, but more importantly it will help Midoriya feel safe and secure."

"Yeah, I guess that's true." Replied Midnight. She ran a hand through her hair. "I've been a hero for 8 years, and I still can't understand how someone could do that to a child."

"You don't need to understand evil to put a stop to it." Replied Present Mic, causing Shoka and Midnight looking at her deadpan. "What?"

Shoka pointed at her. "Since when do you say anything smart?"

"I think this is a sign of the apocalypse." Said Midnight.

"Hey!" Said Present Mic before crossing her arms with a pout, making the others chuckle.

"Well it looks like I have some preparations to make. I'll have the paperwork prepared for you Eraserhead, and I'll get them expressed through." Said Nezu.

Shoka smiled and bowed to Nezu. "Thank you principle Nezu."

Nezu waved her thanks off. "Think nothing of it. It's the least I can do, if you need anything else, don't hesitate to let me know. Now I have a hospital board to talk to." He said as he started walking off. The dark undertone of his last statement sending a shiver down the three heroes spines.

Standing up straight, Shoka looked towards Present Mic and Midnight. "Are you sure you're up to this? Between the trauma, discrimination, and false allegations this won't be easy." Said Shoka.

The two of them just smiled at her. "Hey, we've always had your back, now we'll have his. We won't abandon either of you." Said Present Mic.

"Besides, since when is being a hero ever easy. Or parents for that matter." Said Midnight.

"Please, I'll be the parent, you two will probably be the aunts who spoil him and set a bad example." Jabbed Shoka

Present Mic pointed a finger at her. " Don't accuse us of completely accurate facts." Joke Present Mic, causing the other two to chuckle. "But in all seriousness, we know how important it is he grows up right and happy, but that includes making up 12 years of lost childhood."

Shoka looks towards the door. "I know. He's lost so much. More than many will ever realize." She turned back to the two of them. "Just don't go overboard."

"Of course. Who do you take us for?" Asked Present Mic. Shoka just gave her a deadpan look. "Ok, fair." She said making Midnight silently laugh.

Come on, I'd like to be inside when he wakes up. I don't want him to worry that I abandoned him." Said Shoka as she nodded towards the door. Present Mic and Midnight nodded their heads, ready to face whatever comes their way. Ready to help Shoka. Ready to protect Izuku, and give him a better life.

**A/N Ready for the spoiler? I'm only going to write a description of Izuku's time in the hospital. The story is going way to slow for my personal liking. Plus I really want to get to some fluff.**


	7. Chapter 6 A New Life

**A/N I have been hit by the inspiration train carrying a metric fuck ton of "YOU CAN DO IT!" This is actually my second attempt at this chapter, I didn't like how it was going the first time. But I realized that I have done a lot of angst with some fluff and feels mixed in. This time I wanted to do the opposite and this is what I Came up with. I can't promise I did it well, but I hope y'all enjoy it. :-) **

**here is the genderbent Present Mic**

** pin/579697783258903972/**

* * *

Darkpaladin89: Good plan. Did you see him in the anime/manga? He is scary when he wants to be.

MasterBlade47: Murisaki's evils will be revealed, and it's a reveal I already have planned. Trist me when I say that he is one sick bastard, and I'm the one who made him. Since I'm excited for writing Eri, I do plan on introducing her earlier than in canon, but not a lot earlier.

FanFictionReaderIne: I'm glad you enjoy my fic, and I hope to exceed your expectations.

* * *

2 weeks later

Izuku was sitting in his hospital with several people here with him as Recovery Girl was performing a quick check up. Depending on what she says he'd be going home today. Home. To say Izuku was nervous was an understatement. This would be the third time he got a new family, and his track record left much to be desired. Happiness and safety being among them.

But he was also looking forward to it. So far Shoka has been a huge contrast to what he's experienced in the past. After the Incident on the first day, she rarely left his side. She remained vigilant every waking hour, never letting anyone bother him. Not for lack of trying mind you. He still remembers seeing her get angry at another patient who recognized him.

It was during the evening when it happened, Shoka was the only one awake at the time, since they took turns sleeping, while Present Mic out grabbing something to eat for all of them. The women barely started her tirade of calling him a villain when Shoka jumped to action. The amount of anger radiating off her scared Izuku to no end. But the fear quickly melted off when he felt something else. Safe. Protected. He had quickly recognized she wasn't angry at him, but at the women. And boy did she look ready to rip that women a now one. Shoka barely had to do anything before the women ran off with her tail between her legs. Just standing there menacingly, silently daring her to say another word, and promising a world of pain if she did. They decided to make sure the door stayed shut after that incident.

Like with everyone who visited with him, they talked a lot. She would tell him her hero stories, about her time at U.A. with Midnight and Present Mic claiming they dragged her along on their many misadventures. But he had a feeling it wasn't difficult to get her to join. They even talked about what they will do once he gets out of the hospital. She offered to homeschool him, but he didn't want to be a burden on her already busy schedule more than he already was, so he opted to continue attending public school. With him transferring schools of course.

The event that he believes will stick to him for the rest of his life happened on the fourth day

* * *

*flashback*

Izuku was lying in the hospital bed, talking with Mei and her parents, with Present Mic and Midnight sitting in the corner of the room talking with each other. Shoka has gotten a phone call just a minute ago and went into the hallway to take it. So he was glad that the Hatsume's were here. He's not really comfortable with Mic and Midnight, and would rather not be left alone with them.

It didn't take long for Shoka to come back in, room going silent as she did, everyone looking at her. She had a huge ecstatic smile on her face and tears seemed to be stinging her eyes. Izuku could only assume she got some fantastic news. 'Maybe she got someone else to put up with me, and is happy she doesn't have to anymore.' He thought sadly.

Shoka took her seat back at the side of Izuku's bed. "Izuku, I have some news." Izuku gulped, expecting her to tell him she's done with him. "I just got off the phone with Nezu, and he's informed me that the adoption has gone through."

Izuku's eyes nearly bulged out of his head. He was not expecting that. Everyone else in the room had thrilled looks to them, Mei even hugged and congratulated him. But Izuku wasn't paying any attention to any of it. "Th-then that m-means..." stuttered Izuku in his stupor.

"It means I'm now officially your mom." Said Shoka happily.

"Y-you actually went th-through with it?" Asked Izuku slightly panicky. Mei released him worried about where this was going.

Shoka's didn't falter at the question. "Of course I did."

Izuku looked down dejected. "I thought y-you would ch-change your mind. Th-that you'd just put m-me back in the S-s-system when you got tired o-of p-putting up with me." He said.

Everyone's expressions fell as their hearts broke at the admission.

All except Shoka's. She refused to let it deter her, she needed to be strong for her son. She gripped his hand, gaining his attentions. "Izuku I would never. I want to help you. I want to give you a good life. I want to pick you up when you fall, and stand beside you when you succeed. I will NOT abandon you, and will ALWAYS stand beside you." She said lovingly.

Tears quickly formed in his eyes. He looked down at his lap as he gripped the blanket. "Thank you." He said through the tears. His emotions threatening to overwhelm him.

"That just leaves one question." Said Shoka, earning her a questioning look from Izuku. "Would you like to keep your current name? Or do you want to be Izuku Aizawa?" She asked.

Izuku quickly hugged Shoka and whispered "yes." To which she happily hugged him back.

*end flashback*

* * *

'Mom.' Thought Izuku. He hasn't said that word for years, it felt weird to even think. He hasn't had the privilege of having one in years. Now Shoka was officially his legal guardian, his mother. He knew a lot of strings had to have been pulled for it to happen so fast. He was honestly scared, he doesn't know how she will be once they get home. It could be Chiaki all over again, where she acted sweet until they were alone. But despite that and her hero status, he actually has hope and faith. His history with heroes has been full of nothing but fake kindness, cold shoulders, and even violence a few time. But she has been nothing but kind, and dare he say, loving.

Izuku looked towards Midnight and Present Mic leaning against the wall behind Shoka. Aside from Mr. Hatsume, they were the people he was most weary of. The day he met them he woke up to find them and his mom talking. It scared him at first seeing people he didn't know right as he woke up. Well, he knew WHO they were, but he didn't know them personally. Were they going to be just as two faced as the heroes he's dealt with in the past? Were they going to act like Chiaki, or god forbid Murisaki? His mom assured him immediately that they were trustworthy, but he wasn't sure, he didn't want to take any more chances than he had to.

He was happy to have some proof that he was wrong.

* * *

*Flashback*

Izuku shot up from his bed in the middle of the night, hands clamped over his mouth to suppress a scream. He was drenched in sweat, tears falling out of his eyes, and hyperventilating from panic, or at least as much as he could with his hands over his mouth. He had just woken up from a nightmare, or more like a memory from his childhood. Izuku was absolutely terrified, not just from the nightmare, but from fear of disturbing the others and getting into trouble.

His fear grew tenfold when he noticed Present Mic approach him.

Only, she didn't look angry. No, she looked concerned for him.

Izuku had failed to notice the concern at first as he back up as far as he could away, taking his hands off his mouth. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to disturb you!" He whisper-yelled trying not to disturb anyone else. His panic grew by the second, made even worse as he heard the heart monitor beeping rapidly. It sounded deafening to him and his ears started ringing louder and louder. Closing his eyes and covering his face, he got ready for the beating he KNEW he was going to receive.

But it never happened. His eyes shot open as he felt not a strike, but a gentle hand on his shoulder as an arm wrapped around him. "Hey it's ok, you're safe little listener. No one is going to hurt you, I promise." Came the gentle voice of Present Mic. It sounded muffled to him as the ringing and beeping blared, but he heard it clear as day. Whether in his relief or panic he couldn't tell you, but he started sobbing.

Present Mic quickly wrapped him in a hug. He was surprised, but it quickly died as his emotions got the best of him and hugged back, latching on to her, as the tears poured out of his eyes and onto her shoulder. After about 15 minutes he had finally calmed down, and everything was quiet again. He didn't know when his mom had woken up and wrapped him in a hug as well, but he won't complain. It was nice having people hold him in such a gentle and kind manner. People to care about him and console him when he's hurting.

Izuku slowly released the two heroes. "I-I'm s-sorry for d-di-disturbing y-you." He said looking down meekly, in a hoarse voice, throat feeling raw from all the crying.

Next thing he knew his face was being gently lifted by Present Mic. "Hey, you weren't disturbing anyone, we know you've been through a lot. More than anyone could possibly imagine. We are here for you whenever you need it, so don't be afraid to come to us." She said soothingly.

Izuku slightly nodded his head. "Thank you." He didn't know what came over him, but he wrapped Present Mic in another hug. This time it was her turn to be surprised. It didn't last long as she returned the hug.

Eventually they mutually broke the hug, and Present Mic encouraged him to lie back down. "Come on, it's still late, you really need your sleep. Don't worry, I'll be right here." She said, giving him a loving smile, as she got off the bed and sat in a chair right next to him, hand still on his arm to comfort him.

Izuku nodded his head. "Thank you. Good night... Aunt Mic."

Present Mic beamed at being aunt that for the first time. "Good night little listener."

Izuku turned to his mom who was watching the whole thing with a tender smile, She was just getting off the bed to return to her cot. "Good night mom."

"Good night sweetie." Replied Shoka.

It didn't take long for Izuku to fall back asleep with Mic not once taking her hand off him. Her touch was calming, gentle. He felt protection. It was one of the best nights sleep he's gotten to that point.

The next morning he woke up to hearing the three heroes talking about the whole thing. Mic had started explaining to Midnight how he suddenly started tossing and turning, and she was about to approach him when he suddenly shot up, drenched in sweat, and she was expecting him to scream or yell, only for him to cover his mouth as if on instinct. When she did approach him he looked even more terrified and acted like he thought she was going to hit him. She sounded angry when she said that she had no doubt he was punished for his nightmares. He was honestly surprised, he doesn't remember telling anyone that. For all the jokes his mom and Midnight make about her being dumb, she can be smart when she wants to be. He couldn't help but smile when she told The two how elated she was when he called her 'Aunt Mic.'

* * *

*flashback change*

Midnight was pushing Izuku down the hallway on their way to his physical therapy session. They started his third day here, and apparently he was put on a priority list. While he was thankful the hospital allowed Recovery Girl to be the therapist, he hated going to them. It just reminded him of how weak and useless he is. For years, he was able to push through the pain and fatigue and get things done. But ever since he got into the hospital he's been having a lot of difficulty even moving. He was constantly fumbling and failing to finish even the simplest of workouts. Everyone kept telling him he was doing great, be he couldn't help but feel like a failure.

The only thing making it worse this time was that besides Recovery Girl, he'd only be there with Midnight. He had no idea how she convinced his mom to take him by herself, but she did. While his mom trusted her, he didn't. He knew about her sadistic tendencies, and he had no idea why she even wanted to do this herself. His mind kept jumping to the worst case scenarios. Was she going to beat him? Torture him?

Izuku was completely on edge as they kept going, he jumped a bit when Midnight Spoke. "So we adults have been discussing something." Izuku's anxiety skyrocketed at that statement. What have they been discussing? Where they already tired of dealing with him? Were they going to leave him with Chiaki again? Or were they just going to use him as a punching bag like so many others? His mind racing as he started panicking. "We think that you might be getting frustrated with the physical therapy. What's going on?" She asked calmly.

Izuku wasn't expecting that. How did they know? He thought he was hiding it well. He's had years of practice. Maybe it's their hero instinct? Or maybe he wasn't as good as he though and everyone else just ignored his pain? Regardless he's not about to complain. He learned that lesson enough times. "No, I-I'm fine." He stuttered.

"Izuku." She said sternly, with a great deal of care. Izuku flinched at hearing her.

"I s-swear. I'm f-fine."

All of a sudden they stop. Midnight walked in front of him, and he slams his eyes shut, and prepared for what ever she might do to him. When nothing happened he slowly opened his eyes and saw Midnight kneeling in front of him, concern written all over her face. "Hey you're not in any trouble. We just want to help you. What's going on?"

Izuku studied her for a little while, trying to figure out if she was lying to him. And she stayed there quietly as he did, letting him open up at his own pace. Eventually his gut told him maybe he was allowed to speak up. He looked down dejected. "I'm just tired of feeling weak and failing all the time. I used to be able to keep going no matter how difficult, but now I can't even finish 6 reps with a 5 pound (2.27 kg) dumbbell." He said as tears started falling out of his eyes in frustration.

Izuku felt something on his hands, and looked to find it was Midnight grabbing them, rubbing her thumbs on the back of his hands soothingly. "Hey, you aren't weak and you aren't failing. You have been through so much, and survived more than any hero I've ever met or even heard of. You are strong. The only reason you are having so much difficulty now is because you aren't fighting for your very life anymore. Your body allowed you to push through so much that it couldn't handle just to survive. I don't know if anyone could go through all that you have and make it to the other side. I know I couldn't." She said trying to encourage him.

"But if I was truly strong I would have been able to stop or escape Chiaki and Murisaki." He weakly argued.

"Tell me, do you think I'm strong?" Asked Midnight.

Izuku looked at her confused. "Of course. You're one of the strongest heroes there is. Even without your quirk, you take down villains like they're nothing."

Midnight chuckled. "Why thank you, you sweet talker." She said with a smile, and Izuku blushed, and before he could apologize, Midnight continued. "But you know, I was actually abused as a little girl." Izuku's eyes shot open wide. "It's true. You see, there were some complications during my birth, and my mother lost the ability to have more children. Problem was, she wanted to be a breeder. Not because she loved children mind you, she just thought it would be an easy life. Just pop out a few kids and the government pays you. So when she lost the ability, she blamed me. She became an alcoholic, or maybe she always was, I don't know. Anyways she would beat me, telling me I 'ruined her chance at an easy life', and made my life hell." She pilled the shoulder of her costume down, careful not to activate her quirk, showing a scar. "My mom did this when I was 6. She stabbed me with a pair of scissors." She said, resisting breaking down from the memory, but stayed strong for Izuku.

"So how did you stop her?" He asked intrigued and worried.

"Well, when I was 9 my father found out about what my mom was doing to me. He worked long hard hours to support us and my mom always made sure he never knew. And made sure I didn't tell. But he walked in on it one day, coming home from work early. So combined with that and stress from all the other things she was doing, he divorced her. And with the proof of the abuse, my dad got full custody of me. So I didn't stop her. I was saved. Even the toughest people need saved sometimes. It's not a sign of weakness, but surviving is a sign of strength." She said Kindly as she finished her story, giving him a caring smile.

Izuku though through her story, and again, and again. 'Surviving is a sign of strength.' He thought. Eventually he gave her a smile and determined look with a nod.

Something she was happy to see. "I know what I went through isn't near as bad as what you did. But we are all here for you every step of the way, and if you ever need someone to talk to, I'm here for you anytime." She said as she stood up and moved to start pushing his wheelchair again.

"Who had it worse is irrelevant. It doesn't change the pain you went through. So if you need someone to talk to, I'm here for you as well Aunt Midnight." He said.

Midnight stopped for a moment as she processed what she just heard. Not just his offer, but what he called her. She smiled happily as tears formed in her eyes. She quickly wrapped him in a hug from behind, ignoring his flinching. "Thank you." She whispered.

That session was the first of many that he was able to push through all of it. All with the help of Midnight cheering him forward.

*end flashbacks*

* * *

Izuku deeply appreciated what they did for him. And despite still having difficult trusting them, they made it easier with every interaction. Whenever he watched them and his mom interact he could only describe it as how sisters act with each other. A dynamic he was worried he'd interrupt and never be a part of, but they treated him like family. Not the kind he's used to having, but loving and kind one.

He looked towards Recovery Girl. She was the one currently conducting his examination, and from what he's been told, will perform his future checkups. From what he's been told the reason he's been in the hospital so long is because he needed to be monitored thanks to not only his heart stopping, but because of his weight. If complications were to arise, the hospital was the safest place for him. He's told he's out of the worst of it, but needed to continue being monitored and have regular check-ups until he's healthy again. He will even need to wear a portable heart monitor until said time.

Izuku was thankful that Recovery Girl was going to be the one to do all it. She had been really nice to him during his stay. He's heard his classmates talk about their grandmothers before, and he feels that's how she's acting. She was always making sure he ate properly, helping pick him up during physical therapy and kissing the injuries that he gets. She has also gotten him treats a few times. Not just those gummy bears she carries around either. He tasted chocolate for the first time in years thanks to her, something he forgot tasted so good.

She also loved to tell him stories about his moms and Aunts days at U.A. much to their chagrin. Seems they were a bit of the troublemakers, like when Present Mic thought it would be funny to reveal Shoka's crush by screaming it from the top of the school roof. Using her quirk. With a megaphone. Half the student body lost their hearing for two days, the other half had a constant ringing for a day. They also always came in with the strangest injuries. Like when his mom came in, covered in ant bites. Apparently she was swinging from trees using her scarf, one of the branches broke, and she landed on an anthill. Aunt Mic and Midnight swear that most of the time she was a grumpy logical stiff, but when she cut loose it was a blast.

Tsukauchi was sitting in the window seal. She honestly took more getting used to than Present Mic and Midnight because of his history with her. He didn't lie to her when he told her he WANTED to blame her. He wanted to blame someone for making him believe his life would be better, for making him feel like he would be safe, for making him believe someone cared for him. But he couldn't, something inside him refused to allow him to blame her. Probably because of the kindness he was shown last time.

She had stopped by frequently, and at first he thought that she was just here to ask him more questions for the case. But she told him while she might have to eventually, that she was here for a personal visit, and to make sure he was being treated properly. He even eventually remembered why he wanted to blame her. When Chiaki showed her true feeling towards Izuku, in a brief spark of bravery he told her that he's going to talk to Tsukauchi again and get out of there. He wasn't even wanting to get her into trouble, he just wanted to be safe. Only there was a problem. She laughed. She told him That Tsukauchi didn't care about him, that when she took his case, it was merely for the prestige that would come from framing such an important and kind man. He refused to believe her, but when he got out of the house and talked to the first police officer he could find, she told him the same thing. He didn't even tell her what Chiaki told him. So he became heartbroken, felt that no one did care for him, that he was stuck this time. But this time Tsukauchi promised him she wouldn't fail in making sure he's safe from now on.

As she visited, she actually brought him things to help him entertain himself. She brought in magazines, books, movies, and despite his protest, even bought him a phone AND handheld gaming system with several games. He tried hard to turn them down, that he didn't want her to waste money on him, let alone so much. But she quickly shot that down, and wouldn't budge, telling him she wanted to help him find things to enjoy in his free time. That while she knew he loved heroes, she wanted him to expand his horizons. It took a couple of days for her to get him to stop trying to convince her to return the stuff and get her money back.

He had to admit, while he did enjoy all of it, he really enjoyed the games. He wasn't huge on the racing game, but he enjoyed the RPG, fighting, and tactic games. The phone was also nice to allow him to read up on current hero news, this was the first smartphone he's ever had. Even though he tried to refuse to use them while people were visiting, they encouraged him to play his games or read. Everyone wanted him to find his interests as well, though they were impressed when he showed his ability to multitask. He could read or play games while still keeping up with conversations. They didn't want to think about how he became so good at it. But it was in these moments that they saw how starved for healthy interactions and relationships he was.

Tsukauchi had shown how much she truly cared for Izuku. She pointed things out in magazines that she believed he might like, joked around with him, and even took turns playing the games with him. Something that took a lot of convincing on his part to get almost everyone who visited to do, they just didn't want to ruin HIS fun, but he told them playing with others is more fun than playing by yourself. He found it funny, while she was older than his mom and aunts, she felt more like how a big sister would act to him.

Sitting next to Tsukauchi was Nezu, he visited him least out of everyone, having visited him three times. He couldn't blame him though, he was a very busy man being the principle of the greatest hero university in japan after all. Izuku was more surprised he visited at all. But Nezu told him he has been wanting to talk with him.

Nezu told him all about how when he and his mom move into the U.A. family dorms, that despite his absolute trust in Eraserhead, there will be random inspections to make sure he is safe. Something that did give him a small amount of comfort. He did ask about the family dorms because he didn't know U.A. had those. Nezu happily explained that, just like the school dorms, they were build to ensure the safety of U.A. staff's families, while also providing a place that allowed them to have company over. People still needed clearance to visit, but it was a little easier to get than it took to get on campus. You can't be to cautious as a hero, but he still believes that shouldn't stop them from finding happiness and love. Words that Izuku took to heart.

Nezu Asked Izuku what kind of hero he wanted to be. Nezu would swear to his dying breath Izuku's answer was the most heartfelt and determined answer he's ever heard. Something everyone else agreed with.

"I want to be a hero that protects everybody. A hero that whenever I'm around everyone KNOWS they'll be safe. A hero that will investigate any claim anyone makes that someone's in danger. I know that policy will lead to tons of prank calls, and villains using it to set ambushes, but I NEVER want leave someone in danger." Replied Izuku.

Nezu had felt the emotion of that answer down to his very core, and when he looked at the frail child in front of him, what he saw a future number one hero. And he wanted to help him get there. So the conversation that ensued was the most surprising to Izuku out of all of it. Nezu promised U.A. help. Not just for his recovery, but to help him train for his admission into U.A. which included complete access to their training facilities, and help from any staff that wished to help, which he was among them. Izuku was stunned by the vote of confidence. He never said his chance at getting into U.A. He said for when he GOT into U.A. Nezu didn't doubt that Izuku would get in. A sentiment that everyone shared and voiced.

The last of the people that would visit him were the Hatsume's. Mr. and Mrs Hatsume had visited him about every other day, which just like Nezu, he was surprised they visited again after the first day. But they had assured him that they were there for him, that they would support him. It was strange, they almost acted like a second set of parents to him. Mrs. Hatsume would bring him home cooked meals every time they visited, she always asked him for requests, to which he always first answers that she didn't have to waste her time and money on him. And just like Tsukauchi, she would turn him down instantly. Even started flicking him on the forehead when he said this. Something she did on instinct because she did it with Mei and apologized immediately, and everyone at first was worried it would trigger him, but it didn't. Izuku felt no malice when she did, in fact he felt it came from a place of caring and affection, so he told her it was fine. That he understood why she did it. It didn't stop him from trying to turn down when she asked what he wanted next time she visited. The last time she actually flicked him before he even got a couple of words out. He had to admit, he loved her cooking, she was damn good at it. He'd have to say that katsudon was his favorite, something he believes was his favorite growing up before Chiaki.

Mrs. Hatsume had shown a great deal of motherly affection towards him. From lightly teasing him like she did her own daughter. Even pointing out that they were blushing a couple of times. She wasn't afraid of being physically affectionate as well, which including her hugging him often. Only person who did it more was Mei. He once overheard his mom asking for advice on being a good mother from her.

Now Izuku didn't have any good references, but he couldn't help but think that Mr. Hatsume acted fatherly towards him. He had offered to help him workout once he was medically cleared to do some of the more intense training, since he didn't know anything about physical therapy. He even told Izuku and Shoka that he'd be willing to teach Izuku how to drive, which was something they accepted since he had more experience than her. Only after Izuku tried to tell him he shouldn't waste his time after all. He earned a flick on the forehead from Mrs. Hatsume for that.

It was surprising to the adults, who were all informed of Izuku's fear, how fast Izuku warmed up to Mr. Hatsume. He was as weary of Mr. Hatsume as he was of, well, everyone. But Izuku kept remembering the words Mr. Hatsume spoke to the doctor from the first day. He knew who Izuku was, he knew about Izuku's past, but he didn't call him a villain, in fact he called him a hero. More than that, Izuku remembered looking up at Mr. Hatsume that day and not seeing potential danger, not seeing someone who wanted to cause him nothing but pain, but a protector, a guardian. Something Izuku never thought he'd have, let alone from a man. Which was funny because it was a huge contrast from how he normally is. Mrs. Hatsume called him her 'giant teddy bear' or 'gentle giant'. But it was obvious. NEVER piss him off. He WILL fight for what he believes in, and to protect who he cares for. A list that Mr. Hatsume told him he was on. Izuku was even told a story about how Mr. Hatsume once threw a man against a building 20 yards (18.29 meters) away after he grabbed his wife's ass. A feat that impressed even the heroes.

Mei. There was so much he could say about Mei. After the overnight observation was over, she was officially released from the hospital. She spent as much time with him as possible with him, even trying to stay past visiting hours. She especially wasn't happy when her ability to visit was cut thanks to having to go back to school. It surprised Mr. and Mrs. Hatsume since she'd spend a vast majority of her free time inventing or drawing blueprints, but they were happy to see her make a friend. Mei visited him every day for as long as she could, and eventually she did stop trying to stay past visiting hours after she realized she had babies she needed to make, especially for Izuku. Didn't mean she was happy to leave though. It surprised even her how much time she was trying to spend with Izuku. It's not that she lost her passion for inventing, on the contrary, it was stronger than ever now that she had Izuku to build for, but she was drawn to him. When her mom teased her about spending more time with him than inventing, Izuku tried blame his quirk, saying that maybe it was effecting her. To which they pointed out that this was the first time it would have done that. They eventually came up with the idea of his mom using her quirk on him, while they were in the bathroom so Izuku could hide how he truly looked mind you, which that did confuse Mei, but she was told to let him tell her on his own time by her parents. The solemn looks on their faces did worry Mei to no end, but she agreed. Mei told him she felt no different during that time, so he finally acknowledged it wasn't his quirk effecting her.

Mei was very handsy. She easily touched him as much as everyone else combined, and had no awareness of WHAT was touching him. She had touched over most of his body one time, saying she could get accurate measurements that way. Her parents vouching it was a special talent of hers. But while touching his upper body her breasts were constantly touching him. Something he couldn't ignore. It caused him to pop a boner that he tried desperately to hide while blushing redder than a tomato. Which was odd to him, this was the first time someone had actually caused this in such a manner, morning wood didn't count. It wasn't until she reached his legs that her hand brushed against it. She didn't know what it was at first, so she poked it a couple of times. She blushed just as much as Izuku when she realized what she was touching. Mei couldn't jump away fast enough. They both noticed Mrs. Hatsume, and his aunts looking at them with amused smirks, making their blushes intensify.

There were a couple of things that Izuku tried desperately to figure out. First was the feelings Izuku felt with Mei. He truly enjoyed spending time with everyone here, but with Mei it was different. It had a different kind of warmth to it, she made him feel things that no one else here did. He enjoyed the contact he made with her differently, he enjoyed seeing her slightly manic smile differently, he's considered plenty of other people beautiful before, but her beauty was different. He caught himself staring at her more than once. But he was never told that Mei noticed a few times, and the look of awe on his face when she did make her feel ecstatic and special. And for the first time in her life, beautiful. The second that confused him was the secondary feeling he had whenever Mei touched him. He noticed it only happened when their skin made contact, it provided a kind of tingling, a rush, whenever it happened, and the number in his head would ALWAYS go up when they did. It only happens with her. So far it's up to 163. He kept trying to remember where he felt it before, but never could, and he was way too embarrassed to ask anyone else what any of these feeling were.

Izuku was taken out of his reminiscing at the sound of Recovery Girls voice. "Well you seem to be healthy enough to be discharged and taken home." She said happily. Smiles beamed all around.

"Finally! You ready to see your new home little listener?" Asked Present Mic.

Izuku scratched the back of his head. "Honestly I'm just as nervous as I am excited."

"That's understandable, after everything that's happened. But we will make sure that you will be safe and happy." Replied Tsukauchi.

Izuku would only smile in appreciation to his statement.

Shoka grabbed the bag at her feet and handed it to Izuku. "Here, some clothes for you to change into. Do you need any help to change?"

Izuku looked inside the bag in surprise. They were brand-new cloths, he was expecting a set of his old clothes. No matter how much kindness he's shown, he doesn't ever expect it, and at times doesn't feel he deserves it. After getting out of his stupor, he shook his head. "No thank you. I've got it." He grabbed the cane that was beside his bed. It was given to him by Recovery Girl to help him walk, but he still needed a wheelchair for lengthier trips.

After entering the bathroom, Shoka walked up to Recovery Girl. "What paperwork do I need to fill out?"

Recovery Girl pointed to a clipboard with several pages on the nightstand next to the bed. "Just need your signature on those, Nezu already took care of the rest. Let's get him home as soon as possible."

Shoka nodded, and for the first time eagerly got the paperwork taken care of. Her hand couldn't move fast enough.

Mei walked up to her after she finished. "Would it be ok if I visited sometime?" She asked both eager and shy.

Shoka smiled at her. "Of course, you and your parents are more than welcome anytime. In fact, would you three like to come with us and join for dinner?" That made Mei smile ear to ear as she turned around to her parents, giving them the puppy dog eyes, silently asking them if they could.

"Are you sure it won't be too much bother? Shouldn't you let him get settled first?" Asked Mr. Hatsume, doing everything in his power to ignore the puppy dog eyes his daughter was shooting him. They were truly a powerful weapon.

"Well we did want to throw Izuku a welcome party, but decided against it since it would be to many people he doesn't know and didn't want to overwhelm him. But maybe a small one with people he already knows will help him feel more welcome." Replied Shoka with a smile.

"Well then I guess it'd be ok." Started Mrs. Hatsume, causing Mei to smile excited. "But, we need to find out if Izuku is ok with it." She said. That didn't deter her though. While she was a little afraid he wouldn't want them to, but she didn't let that bring her down.

"Ok with what?" Asked Izuku as he came out of them bathroom prompting everyone to look at him. They all smiled at him with Mei having a slight blush. He wasn't wearing anything fancy, just a red Shirt, with an open black hoodie over it, a pair of blue jeans and red high tops. Mei immediately started questioning how bad her crush on him was.

"Are you ok with them visiting today?" Asked Shoka.

Izuku was stunned. A part of him was sure that with him out of the hospital they would stop seeing him. A part he was glad was completely wrong. "Yeah, I'd be happy have you visit." He said with a smile while scratching the back of his head. Mei lightly squealed and slammed into him with a hug, nearly knocking them to the ground, which he return after a couple seconds. The number read 171 when they separated. "Is everyone else here going to visit as well?" He asked nervously.

Everyone smiled at how well he is opening up. "Are you ok with that?" Asked Shoka. Izuku nodded his head. With that everyone responded that they come by when they can.

Shoka walked up next to Izuku with his wheelchair. "Come on, let's get you home."

Izuku sat down in the chair as only one thought crossed his mind with a smile. 'Home.'

Everyone filed out of the room leaving only Tsukauchi and Nezu lagging behind, both looking towards the door as they all left.

"So is everything ready?" Asked Nezu.

"Yes, I made sure everything was ready before I came here. Let get those sons of bitches." Said Tsukauchi as she pulled out her phone to make a call. In all honesty, the investigation had been done for a little over a week now. It helped that no one seemed to think they did anything wrong. On the contrary, they all believed they did the right thing, so getting all the evidence of wrongdoing was simple. But She, Nezu, and Shoka all discussed holding off on the official arrests until after Izuku got out of the hospital. That way they can guarantee his safety and no one attempting to retaliate. Her phone rang only once when her police chief answered. "Now." Was all she said. After getting confirmation she hung up, both of them following right after.

* * *

At the apartment.

Izuku was being pushed by His mom through the courtyard of the apartments. Midnight, Present Mic, and the Hatsume's following them but with Mei walking next to him, they both looked up in awe as they saw not just their nearby dream schools campus, but the apartments and dorms themselves. They looked more like mansions. He remembered how big the first apartment he lived in looked when he was 4. These looked just as big as he saw them back then.

He was nervous, this was his first time in another new home. But as he looked at his new family he had hope for a better life. He's said it once, he'll say it a million times. Hope feels good.

"Are you ready?" Asked Shoka as they stood in front of their new apartment.

He looked up at the larger door. Probably designed for those with quirks that made them large. It was intimidating to look at. But nonetheless, he had to do this. He took a deep breath. "As ready as I'll ever be."

Present Mic unlocked the door and opened it for them, and stood aside to allow them to be the first ones through. Izuku was in awe as he saw the apartment for the first time, not only from the sheer size of the living room they had just entered, but from the fact it was already fully furnished. Here in the living room they had 2 couches and 2 recliners, with a couple coffee tables in front of them. All facing a wall that had a 60in. TV that looked like it had several game stations. He wasn't familiar with them, but he did recognize what they were.

"Would you like to take a tour?" Asked Shoka, breaking him out of his stupor.

"S-sure." He said. He started to stand up with the help of his cane, and Shoka rushing to help as well.

"Are you sure you want to walk? It's no problem to push you." She asked concerned, holding onto his arm to help keep him balanced.

"Yes. You're already doing so much for me. And I need to be able to walk on my own, I don't want to be any more of a nuisance." He replied.

"Izuku you are not a nuisance. Don't ever believe you are." Said Shoka in caring stern tone.

Izuku merely smiled at her with a hint of sadness. She can say that, but he still feels that way. To him he completely uprooted her life, just so she can take care of him.

Shoka knew he didn't believe her. But she will remind him every time he says it until he does. "Just make sure to tell me if you need to relax, you're still healing. In the meantime use me as a crutch if you need."

"Me too." Came the voice of Mei who walked up to his other side.

Smiling to them both. "Thank you." He said in a quiet voice.

Shoka had started guiding him around the 3-bedroom apartment. The kitchen connected to the living room with a door and a serving hatch. The kitchen was quite large, it had a huge fridge, a chest freezer, a dishwasher, and two ovens. It looked like it was designed to be able to prepare a feast. Down the hallway was five doors in total, two on each side, one at the end. On the left was first the guest room, then Shoka's room. On the right was the bath and laundry area, it was easily the largest bath he had ever seen. 4 people could wash up in here without any hassle. The door at the end was the bathroom (A/N from my understanding, a lot of Japanese places have the bathroom and wash room separate. I could be wrong though so just go with it.)

Right across from Shoka's room was Izuku's room. Walking in had the same effect on him as when he walked into the living room, and for the same reasons. There was a King size bed in one of the corners of the room, a large dresser with a 45in TV on it, a desk with a stack of notebooks and a computer on it, and it didn't look cheap either, several shelves and a door to what he assumed to be the closet.

"Are... are you sure this is MY room? I-I mean it's huge, and it has your TV and computer in here." He said in utter disbelief.

"No, this is YOUR room. That's YOUR TV, and YOUR computer. There's even some clothes for you in the dresser. They are pretty basic, but once you feel up to it, we'll go shopping to pick up clothes and decorations more to your liking." Shoka responded casually with a smile.

"B-b-But this it too much. None of this could have been cheap. You've already done so much for me. You..." He said panicking.

He was shut down when his mom cupped his face with her hands. "Izuku it's ok. I want to do all of this. In fact, I didn't even pay for it all. When the staff found out you were coming to live here, they all pitched in to help. We all want to help you. To give you the life you deserve. The life that was wrongfully taken from you. Ok?" She said in a supportive tone.

"But..." He tried starting again.

"Nope. None of that. I said we WANT to... I want to. Ok?" She said in a stern loving tone.

Tears started forming in his eyes as he nodded his head. Shoka quickly wrapped him in a hug that he returned. "Thank you." He said quietly. Mei smiled at the sight from the hallway.

The rest of the day wasn't too eventful. They didn't have a big party, instead it was just a good amount of people visiting. Everyone chatted with each other, and some even breaking in the gaming consoles, with Izuku finding out Mrs. Hatsume was queen at fighting games, with her daughter not far behind her. Turns out they play to clear their minds when they're in a slump.

Izuku had even been shown that they had bought a few board and card games for him to try. It confused him and Mei when Present Mic suggested a game called 'Cards Against Humanity' and his mom and her dad both Yelled "NO!" Instantly, making everyone laugh. They just looked at each other and shrugged. He didn't know how to play any of the games, even though most of them were common games like UNO, and checkers. He asked Nezu to teach him chess, which he happily agreed to. Izuku made it clear that he didn't want Nezu to go easy on him, that he'd rather learn as much as possible, even if it meant losing. But that didn't mean we would just let him win either. A philosophy that Nezu was impressed and proud of. What no one expected was how much a strategic mind Izuku had.

After Nezu taught him the rules and a few basic strategies, they played. The first two rounds were done quickly, with Nezu wiping the floor with Izuku. The following rounds were a different story. Izuku had learned from every move Nezu made, and acted accordingly. The third round Izuku held his own well. Nezu still won by a good margin, but not as big as the first two. The fourth round was even closer. The fifth and final round though, Izuku had used strategies that Nezu didn't even show him, Izuku had him on the ropes a little. Nezu still being the genius he is still won the match, but it wasn't an easy victory. Nezu was astounded by Izuku. Something the other pro's picked up on. So after that match, Mei convinced him to play another fighting game with her. All four heroes took the opportunity to talk to Nezu.

"You seem impressed. Was he that good of a player?" Asked Shoka.

"It's far more than that." Replied Nezu. They all looked at him confused. He took their silence as a sign to continue. "In your report eraser, you mentioned how he held his own against two assailants using offensive quirks without even throwing a single punch. Only for the third to surprise attack him, and that combined with his own condition took him down."

This was the first time the others had heard this much of the story and were rightfully shocked. "Wait really? I thought he tried to save Mei but his condition caught up with him quickly?" Responded Present Mic.

"That's actually accurate Mic. It wasn't a long fight, but it was an impressive sight indeed. There he was a kid dancing the lines of life and death facing three punks who obviously were no slouches, and he didn't even back down after the two showed off their quirks. He ended that fight only getting hit the once. But he got the two attacking him to hurt each other. But what does that have to do with the chess game?" Asked Shoka, leaving the others impressed beyond words.

"Everything. The odds were stacked heavily in his opponents favor. Yet he stood his ground. Showing courage that even most heroes don't possess. But he quickly turned it all around, using nothing but his mind. In that last match I actually came close to losing." He stayed seriously, all the others again were left speechless. "He employed strategies I didn't show him, meaning he came up with them himself. In fact, I've been watching him all night, look at him and miss Hatsume's game."

The three looked towards the TV, watching as it looked like Izuku was getting thoroughly beat, but getting a few hits in. "What about it? Mei had been beating him the whole time."

"If you look closely, he gets better each and every time. For a game he's never played, he's doing exceedingly well against someone who's got a lot more experience. He adapts, he learns. Even though he losses, he always does better the next time, all with just the power of his mind and will. He doesn't even get frustrated when he loses. He takes it as a chance to learn. A mindset that's rare in anyone, let alone youth. Give him the time, recourses, and experience, I have no doubt in my mind he will become a hero that will surpass All Might herself." He said without a shred of doubt, as he continued to watch Izuku.

The other eyes shot open as they looked towards Izuku again. They all know that Nezu is a hard one to impress, and after such a short time he holds such a belief. They watched as he smiled shyly as he played with Mei who was laughing hysterically. 'A hero who surpasses All Might.' They all thought.

A smile crept on Shoka on face. "Maybe so. But for now he's a kid, and I'm going to let him act as such." She said before walking over to sit on the couch with Mr. and Mrs. Hatsume who were watching Izuku and Mei enjoy themselves while they cuddled, and Tsukauchi sitting in one of the recliners. One by one smiles appeared on the rest of their faces as they watched him. Present Mic and Midnight went to join Shoka, and Recovery Girl took the empty seat at the table with Nezu.

"So do you plan on recommending him to All Might?" Asked Recovery Girl.

"I'm not sure yet. I know that Togata would do great things with one for all, but Izuku might pull miracles with it. He shows to have the heart and mind of a true hero. But it's probably best to see if he has the dedication first." Replied Nezu.

"I have a feeling he'll surpass expectations on that as well." Said Recovery Girl with a chuckle.

Nezu chuckled along. "I was thinking the same thing."

It was a simple gathering of friends and family enjoying each other's company and having dinner together, something Izuku attempted to start doing himself but was quickly shut down by everyone. They told him to relax and enjoy himself. It was even during dinner that Izuku and Mei were told that they would be going to the same school, though Izuku won't start until he's able to at least wheel himself around. It hadn't been planned, but It was better to transfer school, and Mei's school just so happened to be the most logical choice as Shoka put it. Didn't stop the two of them from being happy about it. They both looked forward to having a friend at school.

It was such a simple thing, something people from an outside perspective wasn't anything special. To Izuku it meant everything, such a simple little pleasure that people take for granted every day, that he was denied growing up. He considered it one of the best days of his life, one he doubted he'd ever forget.

Over time everyone trickled out, needing to get home to rest, or finishing things that they need to do tonight. Eventually it was just Shoka and Izuku watching a hero movie in the living room together when Shoka noticed Izuku looking ready to pass out any second. "Come on, let's get you to bed." She said as she paused the movie.

Izuku nodded absentmindedly and tried to stand up, only to not have the energy.

"Let me help you." Offered Shoka. She carefully picked him up to put him in his chair, and hid her frown as she felt how light he truly was. Anger flashing in her mind as she thought about how he's been treated up til now.

Shoka gently laid Izuku down in his new bed, and tucked him in. "Did you have fun today?" She asked.

"Yes. Today was amazing. Thank you mom." He said half asleep as he gave Shoka a hug. One she happily returned. "Love you mom." He said quietly, shocking Shoka.

Her Shock quickly turned into happiness and a tear slid down her face. "Love you too son." She replied. She broke the hug and gave him a kiss on the forehead, before walking to turn off the light. "Goodnight." She said as she turned off the light, only to quietly chuckle when she heard Izuku give a light snore. She was happy for the good start, and prayed for this to be a sign of things to come. Unfortunately she was ill prepared for the coming storm.

* * *

**A/N So I know that I said in the last chapter, he won't be in the hospital for long, but so much came to mind that I wanted to put in. So sorry, not sorry. To be honest, my chapters are only like 10%-20% planned, while the rest is shit I come up with on the fly.**


	8. Chapter 7 Not So Easy

**(A/N) I REACHED 100+ followers! That's not even Including the people who add my story just to their favorite's list. Thank you all so much for reaching my fic, it truly means a lot to me. I'm sorry it took so long to get a new chapter out. I'm not going to make excuses, but every time I tried to write, I kept getting distracted with the idea's I have for other stories. I'm debating on if I want to write two stories simultaneously, just to get some of the ideas out of my head, which in theory should help me update both stories faster.**

* * *

To those that comment, I truly appreciate you taking the time and effort to leave one, but I don't have the vocabulary to respond to each one in a unique way.

DarkPaladin89 - I'm glad I was able to pull that off :-) I was hoping to hit people in the feels. I do have a plan for All Might, I just don't want to spoil it.

Bastidaswilliam2005 - I'm happy you enjoy my story :-) their fall will come, and so will the lemons. I do promise that Melissa will be part of the harem. In all honesty, when I read you're comment I was wondering if english was your first language, but I truly appreciate the comment!

Middernacht - I don't know whether to apologize or be proud that I made you cry lol. I don't want to spoil what Izuku's and All Might's meeting will be like, but it will be... interesting. I've also never heard about that anime before, I'll check it out when I have some free time. I do have some of his costume planned out, but not completely. when it comes to his costume, I want it to evolve through the fic as he comes to accept his quirk more and more, and have it represent that. And yes, Shoto will be a girl.

* * *

Izuku woke up the next morning to the sun beaming through his window, and immediately started to panic. But after taking a couple seconds to process where he is, he started calming down. 'I'm not with Chiaki. I'm not with Chiaki. I'm not with Chiaki.' He kept mentally repeating, while hugging himself and rocking back and forth, trying to calm himself down.

"I'm safe. They've been nothing but nice." Izuku mumbled to himself. He looked around the room, it was plain but it was more than enough for him. He considered simply having a bed a major blessing. After sitting there for a couple of minutes he decided to get up, he didn't like just not doing anything.

Grabbing his cane he stood up from his bed, and was surprised by how much easier it was. Giving a small smile, he thought that maybe the physical therapy was helping. Slowly making his way out of his room and down the hallway, he looked around but didn't see his mom. 'She must still be asleep.' He thought. Not knowing what to do he decided to just watch some TV. Maybe he could watch a report on a hero.

Right as he lifted the remote to turn on the TV, his face went pale when he heard yelling. "Where the hell is my breakfast!" Came a yell from the hallway.

Izuku started shaking in panic as he saw his mom stomp over to him. She didn't look happy. "W-What?" He said, words barely escaping his mouth.

"You heard me! Where is my breakfast!?"

"B-But..." He mumbled.

"God! I adopted you for a reason! Now get in the kitchen and make me my food!" She Yelled. Acting automatically he ran straight to the kitchen. Not even bothering to grab his cane. "And make sure that kitchen is spotless when you're done!" She yelled angrily.

Izuku was rushing around the kitchen grabbing ingredients. 'Wh-whats going on? I-I Thought...I-I thought things w-would be different this t-time. Th-that She c-cared a-about me.' He thought panicked and dejected.

Barely any time after he thought that he heard the front door open, taking a look he saw Aunt Mic, Aunt Midnight, and Nezu walk in. 'Thank god. They'll help me.' He thought relieved.

"Who said you could stop?!" Yelled Shoka.

For a few seconds he stood there thinking the others were going to say something to his mo... no Shoka.

Only for the three to sneer at him.

"You heard her. Get to work." Said Present Mic.

"And while you're at it. Make something for us to eat too." Said Nezu.

He stood there horrified, tears started forming in his eyes.

"Hurry the fuck up!" Yelled Midnight. She pulled her whip out, seemingly out of nowhere, holding it looking ready to strike. "Do I need to give you a real reason to cry?!" She threatened.

"NO! I'M SORRY!" He screamed as he got back to cooking. Tears streaming down his face. 'How could I get my hopes up? I KNEW this would happen.' He thought.

"Quiet you brat!" He heard. This time it sounded like Recovery Girl. Seems she entered when he wasn't looking. The tears started to pour out faster, only he knew it couldn't slow him down. He had to hurry to not get a beating.

It took a little time, but he finished everyone's breakfast and started bringing it out to them. As he finished bring the plates out, Shoka Yelled at him again. "About time! Now get to cleaning the shower!"

"Y-Yes!" He said as he ran off. Shortly after getting into the hallway a thought came to him. 'Tsukauchi! I can call Tsukauchi! She'll help me!'

After making sure no one was watching him, he snuck into his bedroom to grab the phone Tsukauchi gave him.

Izuku quickly scrolled through his short contact list and started calling Tsukauchi. 'You think she's going to help? Please, she tricked you like all the others.' Said a voice in his head.

'No! She promised to protect me this time!' He argued back mentally.

'Just like they all did. Face it. No one cares about you. You're nothing but a villain and a slave to them.' Said the voice.

Before Izuku could answer back, Tsukauchi answered the phone. And what he heard made his heart drop. "What do you want?" She said annoyed.

"I-I-I need h-help. Th-there acting l-like Ch-ch-Chiaki!" Stammered Izuku.

"So?" Came Tsukauchi's reply, making Izuku drop to his knees in horror. "Don't bother me again until I can earn more prestige from you." She said snidely before hanging up.

Izuku's arm dropped to his side and dangled there as he sat there just staring into space. Terror and sadness written all over his face. 'No. It's true. They don't care about me.' He thought. He slumped forward putting his forearms onto the floor, banging his fist. 'I'm so stupid! It's happening again. I KNEW it would happen again, but I still got my hopes up.' He banged his fist against the floor again when one last Idea came to his mind. 'The Hatsume's! Maybe they can help me?!'

'They don't care about you either.' Said the voice.

Izuku ignored it as he shakily started to call Mei. His hands just couldn't stop shaking as he brought the phone to his ear.

Then he heard ringing from the living room.

"Izuku! Get in here you brat!" Yelled Shoka.

The phone slipped from Izuku's grip, his phone fell to the carpeted floor with a light thud. "No." He whispered in anguish.

"Don't make me come get you or I swear to god you'll regret it!" Came the voice of Shoka.

He meekly got up off the floor and walked out into the living room where he saw the Hatsume's were in fact here, even Tsukauchi had shown up for some reason. They were all looking at him with disdain and disgust. It was shattering his heart as he looks at each one of them. 'No no no no no no NO!' He thought. Feeling every last shred of happiness he's ever felt these last two weeks coming back to bring him nothing but pain.

"I told you to clean the shower! Not make phone calls!" Yelled Shoka, face contorted into fury.

"Why would you even bother calling me? Why would I want to talk to a worthless villain like you?" Said Mei snobbishly.

"I...I...I..." Said Izuku, unable to get any words out as his heart was turning to dust.

"I. I. I." Mocked Shoka. "Well I think it's time to teach you a lesson." She said threateningly, getting her capture weapon ready.

Izuku's eyes shot open wide. "No! I'm sorry! I'll be good!" Bringing his hand up towards them, trying to stop what was coming.

Shoka launches her capture weapon and it wrapped around Izuku's wrist. Yanking hard Izuku was flung forward landing face first on the floor. "Oh I know. Just have to remind you of your place." Said Shoka condescendingly.

He looked up towards everyone as they heard them laugh darkly. "Mind if we join in? This sounds like fun." Asked Nezu as he flashed his claws.

"Of course. He needs to learn his lesson after all." Said Shoka said with manic glee.

He watched in terror as Present Mic turns on her speakers around her throat, Midnight cracked her whip, Tsukauchi, Mei, and Mrs. Hatsume pulled out a tasers, And Mr. Hatsume cracked his knuckles.

Izuku knew there was nothing he could do to stop this, but he saw his cane was just a couple feet from him on the ground. He quickly escaped the capture scarf and lunged for the cane, standing up, holding it like a sword. "St-stay back! Please!" He practically begged.

They all simply laugh. Next thing he knew he felt something slam into the back of his head, and he was feeling tremendous pain. He fell back I do the floor as stars entered his vision. "We can't go having any of that, now can we." Came a voice from behind him.

Izuku's breath caught in his throat. Turning around, eyes the size of saucers as panic was rising in him. Behind him was Chiaki. She was holding the same wooden bat she used in some of her punishments on him. It had several of his old blood stains on it, and now had fresh blood on it. "No. I was supposed to be taken away from you!"

Everyone laughed loudly. "Please. It was all a ruse. They don't care about you. So why would they do anything to me? I'm the one who was keeping you in line after all." She said in a sickeningly sweet voice.

"She's a real hero, having to deal with you." He heard Mei say. "God it was tiring doing it for two weeks. I can't even imagine having to do it for as long as she did."

"I did love hearing her stories. I'd have to say the time she beat you black and blue with that bat was my favorite." Said Tsukauchi looking like she was remembering that story with glee.

"How about when she took away his food for a week when he burnt dinner." Added Mr. Hatsume with a smirk.

"I'm particularly fond of when he was locked in the freezing attic during heavy snow in the middle of winter for three days." Said a jubilated Mei.

"I don't know, they are good stories." Started Shoka before she grinned at him evilly. "But I prefer HIS."

Izuku has an intense feeling of dread run through him. "No. Y-you don't mean...?" Said Izuku before losing his voice.

Everyone just smiled at him evilly. "Oh but I do. In fact, I've arranged a little reunion." Said Shoka, and everyone started chuckling.

Izuku's blood went arctic cold, panic skyrocketing ever higher, as he was hyperventilating. "No! Not Him!" Yelled Izuku. He started crawling backwards away from everyone. Suddenly he ran into something. And he could tell it wasn't a wall. Izuku went pale as a ghost, scared out of his mind, and the looks everyone was giving him told him everything he needed to know. He slowly turned around and it felt like time stopped. "Murisaki." Whispered Izuku.

Murisaki, a man in his mid 50's, had a mix of black and dark gray hair, was in good shape, and classified as a good-looking man. He only stood at 5'6, but to Izuku, it felt like he was staring up at a giant. Murisaki have him a predatory smile. "Is that all you have to say to dear old dad?" He asked. His voice was smooth, with words like honey. It was the kind of voice people just love to listen to. To Izuku, it made him feel ill.

"S-stay away f-from me!" Yelled Izuku. As he quickly backed away, which only brought him closer to those he once believed in. Several pairs of hands grabbed him, picked him up facing Murisaki, and held him in place.

Murisaki walked over to Izuku, with Izuku bracing himself. Murisaki grabbed hold of Izuku by the chin and forced him to look at him, but Izuku had his eyes slammed shut. "Look at me boy." He said sternly in a voice that promised greater pain if not listened to.

Izuku reluctantly opened his eye's, looking frightfully at Murisaki. "How? You're supposed to be on death row."

Murisaki and everyone else laughed. "Please. It wasn't that hard to get me out when they were told I was needed to put you back in your place. Your... oh what did you think they were? Friends? Family? People who even gave a single fuck about you?" He said as he forced Izuku's head to the side in a throwing motion. "They helped me out. But I have to stay here." He gave Izuku an ecstatic deranged smile. "But that just means I have more time to play with you. Now. Release that stupid quirk and let me admire my work."

Izuku shook his head rapidly as he was hyperventilating from all the anxiety and fear. "N-no!" He yelled. All of a sudden he started feeling strange. He looked down at himself and his true form was being revealed. 'How? I'm not...' He started before he noticed Shoka using her quirk on him. Everyone stared at him.

"So that's what he looks like? I've got to say, you have got to be the ugliest thing I have ever seen." Said Mei snidely.

"While you're not wrong, the work is beautiful. You can almost see the agony." Said Nezu.

"It would have been fun if I saw how it all happened." Said Mr. Hatsume.

"Well how about I give a demonstration?" Said Murisaki.

Izuku's eyes shot open wide. "No no no no no no." He begged.

"Oh yes. We're going to have so much fun. Now, let's get you to the play room." Said Murisaki as he gestured towards a wall. Only now it had a door with a spotlight over it, everything else was dark in comparison. The rest of the room seemed dark in comparison. But it wasn't just any door. It was a door Izuku had been through hundreds, thousands of times. It was THAT door.

Almost as soon as he saw the door he used every ounce of his strength, which admittedly wasn't much, to break free of their grips as he made a rush for the door. Only to have some kind of force start pulling on him. It didn't feel strong at first as he still continued running, but it stopped him a mere inch from grabbing the door knob. He tried as hard as he could to reach it but couldn't move forward.

Then he started being pulled backwards, away from the door. And towards the other one. He glanced back, seeing everyone enter the room and Murisaki gesturing for him to enter. "Can't keep everyone waiting now can we?" He said with a devilish grin before entering himself. The pull got stronger and stronger, pulling him faster as it did. He did everything he could to resist it, from trying to run, to grabbing furniture, even falling to the floor to claw at it to stop him. But it was futile. He felt himself flung back hard into the room, as he saw the door slam shut immediately after.

Izuku's room

Izuku sprang up from his bed, gripping his mouth by instinct. He was covered in so much sweat, even his sheets and blanket were soaked. He brought his knees-up, getting into the fetal position muting "it was just a dream." To himself over and over.

The door flying open got his attention. He saw his mom standing there looking very concerned. "Izuku! What's wrong!?" She almost yelled as she started rushing to him. Only for his mind to flash over to a vision of how livid she looked in his dream.

Izuku backed away from her scared out of his mind. 'It wasn't just a dream. It will happen.' Spoke a voice in his head intimidatingly.

"Stay away from me! I will not go back to him!" Yelled Izuku in fright.

Shoka stopped a few feet away from Izuku's bed when she noticed how terrified of her he is. She stood there trying to look as harmless as possible. "Go back to whom?"

"You know who I'm talking about! I am not going to be given back to Murisaki!" He Yelled in a mix of fear and defiance.

Shoka was confused. "Why would I give you to Murisaki? I promised to protect and care for you." She spoke gently.

"No! You're lying again! I won't fall for it!" Screamed Izuku.

"When did I lie to you? I'm sorry for any lie I told you." She said as she slowly started inching towards Izuku, so she can try to calm him down.

"Stay away from me! I won't fall for it!" Bringing his right hand up in a stop motion as he futilely tried backing away, only for the wall behind him to prevent it. He was backed into a corner.

"Izuku I promise no one will hurt you. Not me, and definitely not Murisaki." She said calmly, as she continued to walk towards him slowly. It was her hope that once she got to him she was can prove she wasn't going to hurt him. Only to get a major surprise.

"NO! Stay away!" He Screamed. Suddenly he felt a sudden surge of energy flow from his chest to his outstretched hand. His hand started to glow for a second and a ball of energy flew from his hand towards Shoka. Due to the combination of his fear and confusion on what just happened, he didn't process that the number in his head went down by 1, leaving it at 170.

Shoka didn't expect the attack, so she didn't have a chance to dodge. Getting hit square in the stomach sending her stumbling back to towards the doorway again. Her nightshirt she was wearing is now singed, has a hole in it, and her chest felt warm enough to hurt, but she was too concerned about Izuku to check for a burn. The impact didn't feel pleasant either, it felt like she got punched square in the stomach. All in all, it hurt like a bitch.

Right as Shoka was regaining her bearings she noticed Izuku running away, and straight to the closet, probably trying to escape, but she was in the way of the door. Before she had a chance to try to stop him the closet door slammed shut and a solid bang was heard on the other side. She assumed he slammed his body against the door to keep it from opening, probably not processing that it opens the other way due to his panic.

Walking towards the door she knew better than to open up the door, she could hear Izuku mumbling. Putting her ear to the door she heard him repeating the same thing over and over again. "I'm sorry, please don't hurt me." It hurt seeing him in such a state and not knowing what to do to help him. She felt like a failure.

Before she knew it her phone starting ringing in her pocket, she had forgotten she had it on her. Looking at the phone it was a call coming in from Recovery Girl. If she wasn't so worried about Izuku, she'd be curious on why she was calling her at 1 in the morning. But right now this was a blessing.

Shoka answered the call, but before she had a chance to speak, Recovery Girl started talking. "Eraser, what's going on? Izuku's heart has been dangerously high for the last couple minutes and it just keeps rising."

'Right. She has a receiver to his heart monitor too.' Thought Shoka. "I don't know. Right as I was going to bed, the receiver starting alarming. When I went to check up on him, he seemed to have just woken from a nightmare. When I approached him, he started yelling at me, telling me to stay away, and that I was lying to him again. Next thing I know he... he..."

"He what?!" Nearly Screamed Recovery Girl In worry.

"He shot a ball of energy at me. I think he was just as surprised as I was about it." Answered Eraser. She wasn't mad at him in the slightest. Just heartbroken that he subconsciously felt the need to protect himself from her.

"How did he?.. You know what, not the time. Are you ok? And where is he at now?" Replied Recovery.

"It hurts but I'm fine. But Izuku has hidden himself in his closet. I don't want to enter in case I make things worse." Said Shoka near in tears.

"I understand. I'll get Hound Dog and be over there soon!" She said quickly before hanging up the phone.

'Hound Dog!' Thought Shoka. How could she forget about Hound Dog?! She was a rescue hero and licensed therapist. Placing her face in her hands. 'This is why I don't do emotions much. It gets in the way of logic.' She thought. As if drawn she looked back towards the closet door, still hearing Izuku mumbling. 'But I wouldn't have it any other way. I will help him. I will show him all the love he deserves. Love that I'm happy to give.' She thought resolutely.

Shoka lightly knocked on the door, hearing a small yelp from inside. "No! I'm not going back to him! I'm sorry for hurting you! Please don't hurt me! You lied to me!" Izuku Yelled, sounding like his emotions are running wild. In just those few sentences, he sounds scared, brave, apologetic, back to scared, then upset. He was struggling, it hurt so much to see him in such a state. One she hoped she would have been better prepared for. She knew something like this could, scratch that, she knew something like this was GOING to happen. She just wished she had more time. Looking at the app on her phone that connects to his heart monitor, his heart was racing. It's currently at 180, which is dangerous for anyone his age, but in his. Condition it could turn lethal quickly if it keeps up.

Shoka didn't know what to do, she desperately wanted to help but this situation is unique. She's dealt with torture and abuse victims before, but never to his degree. His was so extreme, she doubts it will happen again worldwide in her lifetime. Or at least she prays it doesn't.

Despite not knowing what to do, she wasn't going to just do nothing. Kneeling in front of the door. "Izuku." She said, hearing him whimper a bit. "No one is going to hurt you, especially not me, everyone here at U.A. will make sure of it, including myself. You are safe and loved here."

"You're lying. You're lying. You're going to give me back to Chiaki and Murisaki." He said without so much as shred of doubt in his voice.

"I would never do that. I will make sure Chiaki gets sent to prison like she deserves. And Murisaki WILL be put to death. You'll never have to deal with either of them ever again." Said Shoka with convictions.

"You're lying. You're lying. You're lying. You're lying." He kept repeating. Shoka could tell he was completely freaked out in there. And he kept saying she was lying. When did she lie? What did she lie about? And how does she make it up to him?

Shoka sat down and leaned against the wall next to the door. "I don't know how I can get you to believe me, or how I can make it up to you. But I will be right here if you need me." She said, hoping she kept the sadness and frustration she felt out of her voice. She wasn't frustrated at Izuku, she was frustrated at herself. It was only his first night here, and she felt she was already failing.

Shoka sat there in silence, her heart crumbling as she listened to Izuku's mumbling a combination of saying she was lying, and begging to not be hurt. The only thing keeping her from breaking down herself was the rage that built up the more she listened. The more time she spends with him, the more she sees of his past suffering, and the trauma that came with it. And she feels that she hasn't even finished seeing the tip of the iceberg, let alone the stuff hiding underneath. All of it was led by Chiaki and Murisaki. Balling her hands into fists she silently promised that if she ever gets the chance, she'll give them exactly what they deserve.

Time felt like it was at a crawl, but eventually she heard the front door open and close. She had no doubt it was at least Recovery Girl, not wanting to waste time with pleasantries. Something she was thankful for. Standing up she faced the door. "Izuku. I'll be right back, I won't be far." She said calmly, but Izuku simply kept mumbling.

Sighing sadly, she left the room, and in the living room she saw both Recovery Girl with Hound Dog. One of the heroines she trusts and respects. She was a speed fighter only beat out by All Might and some with speed quirks like Ingenium. But that doesn't subtract from her power. She is definitely strong, and she overwhelms her opponents with her extreme ferocity. But that's not what she respects the most. She knows she has issues with her speech when she got angry, and that she had a bit of a temper. So she took psychology classes to try to figure out why, so she could correct it. Eventually she found out she could use it to help victims as well, and dove deep into learning as much as she could. Essentially Shoka thinks of her as a werewolf with a big brain and bigger heart.

(A/N here is my vision of Hound Dog. pin/144889312995003140/ only with clothes xD)

Upon seeing Shoka, Recovery Girl started waving her cane around at her. "Damn it Eraser, that hit you took is worse than you lead me to believe, I can clearly see the burn on your stomach from the fist sized hole." Ranted Recovery Girl.

Shoka started trying to placate Recovery Girl. "Look, you can yell and scold me later. Right now we need to take care of Izuku."

Aside from a little grumbling about her getting too old for this shit, the mention of Izuku did shut her up.

Seeing that Recovery Girl is calmed down for now, Shoka turned to Hound Dog. He"Thank you for coming. I'm sorry for dragging on you out of bed, but I really appreciate it." Said Shoka, her worry obvious as the nose on her face.

"It's ok. I even told Nezu I'll help with the boy as much as I can. I expected something like this to happen eventually. I just wish I could have met him under better circumstances first. But this isn't the time for that, tell me what happened." Said Hound Dog reassuringly, before getting down to business.

Shoka began to explain that she was sleeping when the alarm went off on her phone, upon seeing that it was the receiver app she bolted straight to Izuku's room, finding him looking like he had just woken from a nightmare. When she tried to run over to console him he tried to get away from her, looking more terrified than he did from the nightmares he had while in the hospital. She went on to explain in detail everything that happened after that, up to her sitting Besides the closet and her attempts to calm him down before they showed up.

"Unfortunately, as you know, having nightmares is common among those who have gone through tragedy. Is he having nightmares often?" Asked Hound Dog. Both Shoka and Recovery Girl looked down dejected.

"He seems to have bad dreams nightly, as painful as it is to see, he usually calms down after a bit. But he's had full on nightmares a couple times each week we were there. So four times total. But they weren't this bad." Said Shoka.

"You said he called you a liar and saying you broke a promise. Did you?" Asked Hound Dog, she believed she knew what was going on, but had to be absolutely sure.

"None that I can think of. I only remember promising to protect and care for him." Said Shoka, fighting back the tears, believing she must have done something wrong.

"Can you think of anything Recovery Girl?"

Recovery Girl shook her head. "Those are the only ones I heard, and I don't think she would have made a promise she couldn't keep, so I can't think of anything."

"One last question. You're positive he said you were just going to give him to Chiaki and Murisaki?" Asked Hound Dog.

"Yes. But I'd never do that!" Near screamed Shoka.

Hound Dog put up her hands to try to calm Shoka down. "I know. I just had to clarify." That seemed to successfully calm her down somewhat. "I think I know what's happening." She said sadly, causing Shoka's and Recovery Girl to look at her expectantly.

"What's going on? Why does he suddenly think I want to hurt him?" Asked Shoka, practically begging for an answer.

Hound Dog sighed. "Because you brought him home to live with you." She said sadly.

Shoka was confused, and a little annoyed by the answer. "How does that make him think I'm going to hurt him?"

"The thing is, the mind is very powerful, and a lot more organized than people think it is. Have you ever heard of the doorway phenomenon?" Asked Hound dog. All she got as a response was Shoka shaking her head no. "It's what happens when you enter a room for something and forget what you were going to do or get. That's because your brain associated that thought with the room you were originally in. The mind subconsciously associates a lot of things, places, and even words with certain memories and feeling. Usually the ones that are strongest."

Shoka's eyes slowly started going wide. "And he associates home with pain and suffering." She said in a stupor, as she put the pieces together.

"Exactly."

"But that doesn't explain why he didn't freak out after I brought him home." Said Shoka frantically.

"Because sleep is essentially restarting the brain. In your sleep your mind organizes your thoughts and memories of the day. So when it started going through the fact this was his new home, he started to have a nightmare due to the association to all the pain." Said Hound Dog.

"And it probably involved me breaking my promise and giving him to Chiaki and Murisaki." Said Shoka solemnly.

"Most likely." Said Hound Dog before looking towards Recovery Girl, then back to Shoka. "And there's a chance it wasn't just you Eraser."

"What do you...? Oh." Started Recovery Girl before putting the pieces together herself. Recovery Girl let out a sad sigh. "We knew this wouldn't be easy, but this just got a lot harder."

"Your not wrong, but tell me Eraser. Are you still going to go through with all this?" Asked Hound Dog looking serious.

Shoka looked at her with a mixture of anger and annoyance that she would even ask that. "Of course I am. Why would you think I'd back out now?" She said as if the answer was obvious.

But Hound Dog just continued with her deathly serious look. "Because we can't afford to make any mistakes."

Shoka's lost her annoyance and anger as her worry took back over. "What do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said. That boy has spent most of his life getting tortured, abused, assaulted, put down, and discriminated against. Think of something bad, he's probably been through it and more. He has walked through the deepest pits of hell, and just barely made it to the other side. There is no doubt in my mind that boy is the strongest of us. And I'm talking about more than just U.A. Hell, more than Japan! The moment Nezu told us that he was going to try to put Izuku under U.A. care, before I even knew you were going to adopt him, I quickly volunteered to help. I immediately went to reading his files. Learning everything I can about him." She said in her serious tone before adopting a solemn look. "It took me three days, not just because of how large they were, but because of how hard it was to handle. I lost my temper and my lunch several times. While I didn't have a psychological file on him, just from what I read I can already assume that he has trust issues, and believes not just that no one cares about him, but that everyone just wants him to suffer. I want to help him, but he is in such a delicate state right now that one wrong move can destroy him forever."

The three stood there in silence, Shoka and Recovery Girl taking in everything Hound Dog had just told them. "Please. Tell me it's not too late." Shoka begged quietly.

"No. You've done good so far. You've shown him constant care and love since his first day at the hospital from what I've been told. And I heard about what that doctor did. While I find his actions vile, it probably turned into a force of good, because you showed him that you WILL protect him. And not allowing the staff to throw a welcome party was a good call, I was about to tell them it was a bad idea to force him in a room full of strangers, but you didn't let it happen. And when you didn't retaliate to his attack, which Was most likely done subconsciously in perceived self defense, you showed you're not a threat. He may be scared of you now, but once the panic wears off, most of that should go away." Said Hound Dog.

It relieved Shoka knowing she didn't mess up, but one thing Hound Dog Said stuck to her. "Most?"

Hound Dog sighed sadly. "He's spent most of his life fearing his guardians, it's not something that's just going to go away so easily."

Shoka nodded sadly. "So what do we do now?"

"First, I know you want to help him, but right now, leave it to me. I'll talk to him."

"What? But..." Started Shoka.

"No buts. I told you we need to be careful. And right now he's perceiving you as a threat, and probably everyone else that he's met so far." Said Hound dog sternly, earning dejected looks from both Shoka and Recovery Girl. "After I talk to him, keep doing what you were doing, but make sure to give him any space he asks for. I'd also like to talk to him at least once a week. I'll even come here if he's more comfortable with that. I'd rather do it more, but he needs to get comfortable with me first. Now tell me which room is his, then you get healed by Recovery Girl." Said Hound Dog.

"Second door on the right." Said Shoka, feeling useless at being unable to help her son.

Hound Dog put her hand on Shoka's shoulders. "Hey, you are doing a great job. You most likely have helped him more than you know. Don't let this get to you. You should know that sometimes you just need a trained professionals help. It doesn't mean you're doing bad, or that you're useless." She said giving a reassuring smile. After getting a nod in acknowledgment she left to go help Izuku.

Shoka stood there silently, staring towards Izuku's room. She still wished there was something she could do, anything to help. But no, she had to leave it to Hound Dog. In her mind she knew that what she said was right, but it couldn't alleviate how she felt. The worst part is she knew something like this was going to happen, but she let her guard down because of how well these last couple weeks have been going. God she was such a fool.

Shoka was brought out of her stupor when she felt Recovery Girls hand on her leg. "Come on dearie. Let's get you healed and into some proper cloths."

Shoka looked down at her shirt, completely forgetting that it had a hole in it from Izuku's attack. How was he even able to do that? Didn't he need pheromones to use his offensive abilities? Shoka let Recovery Girl guide her to her room. They heard Izuku scream "NO! YOU'RE LYING!" When they were right outside her room. It further broke Shoka's heart.

After entering her room, she went straight to her dresser to grab a new shirt. Silently she removed her shirt, allowed Recovery Girl to heal the burn left by Izuku's attack, and put on the new shirt. She sat down on her bed, slouching forward with her face in her hands, not even moving when she felt the bed shift with Recovery Girl sitting next to her.

"She's right you know?" Said Recovery Girl putting her hand on Shoka's leg.

"Right about what?" Asked Shoka, voice hollow.

"That you've been doing a good job." She replied reassuringly.

Shoka couldn't hold back her frustration from being unable to help her son. "A good job? He's currently hiding in his closet scared out of his mind, and I can't even help him. Despite knowing something like this would happen but I wasn't prepared. I let myself get complacent." She nearly yelled. Barely keeping her voice down so to not scare Izuku if he overheard her.

"You can't do everything on your own. As a hero you should know there is nothing wrong with getting help. And right now you have one of the most qualified people helping him right now." Said Recovery Girl, trying to console Shoka.

Shoka stood up quickly and started pacing the room as she talked. "I know that mentally. But I just feel so useless. I... I feel like a shitty parent!" Said Shoka louder than intended. She went and sat back down on the bed next to Recovery Girl. "My parents always knew how to help me. How to cheer me up. How to make me feel better." She said sadly.

Recovery Girl placed her hand on Shoka's back and started rubbing comfortingly. "I know, you've told me some stories, and I've met your mom a few times. But you know this case is different. Your parents raised you from birth. You jumped into the deep end of the pool and adopted a 16-year-old. That alone would be difficult for anyone. But add on what he's been through? I don't think anyone would have all the answers." She said comfortingly.

Shoka ran her hand through her hair. "Yeah, I know that too, but..." Started Shoka.

"Ah ah ah. None of that. Tell me. Who adopted Izuku?" Asked Recovery Girl.

"Me, but..."

"Who provided a loving home for him?"

"Me."

"Who rushed to him when the alarm for his monitor went off?"

"Me."

"See? You're doing fine. And once he's calmed down, I KNOW you're going to shower him with love and affection." Said Recovery Girl, earning a smile from Shoka. "So stop beating yourself up over this, and continue being a good mom. And whenever you're having difficulty, you have dozens of people more than happy to help."

Shoka slowly nodded her head before giving a thoughtful smile. "I guess you're right." She said before her smile disappears and looks towards the door. "I just hope we make all the right choices for him."

"I have no doubt we will." Replied Recovery Girl confidently.

For the next twenty minutes the two sat there silently as they waited for word from Hound Dog. In that time they thought about what they're going to do to help Izuku in the coming days. This whole event has been an eye-opener for the both of them. They needed to be prepared for things like this to happen. They were going to be better prepared next time.

Eventually they heard a light knock on the door. Shoka rushes to the door hoping to see Izuku, but it was just Hound Dog. She visibly deflated. "Oh, it's just you."

"Well hello to you to." Said Hound Dog jokingly.

"Sorry, I was just hoping you were Izuku."

Hound Dog waved it off. "It's fine. But he was tired, so I put him back in bed."

Hearing that Shoka reanimated, and quickly checked the receiver on her phone and saw that his heart rate was back to normal. She sighed in relief. "Thank god. So did you figure out anything?"

Hound Dog's expression fell, and she scratched the back of her head. "Yeah, I figured out what happened."

"What is it? And how can I help?" Asked Shoka, almost begging.

Hound Dog went to explain that after getting Izuku to calm down, she got him to explain what was wrong. She confirmed that in his panic he couldn't discern between his nightmare and reality. Her fear was also confirmed when he told her everyone he'd spent time with so far sided with Chiaki and Murisaki and were just tricking him into believing they cared for him. "I did what I could to convince him that none of you did that, and that you care for him. Only there is no way to confirm how well it stuck. And for anyone who's gone through a sliver of what he has, it's not uncommon for them to lose trust in those around them at any moment. The best we can do is stick by his side and show him we don't want to hurt him, But give him space when he needs it." Said Hound Dog sadly.

Shoka and Recovery Girl stayed silent as they processed the story, and why he wasn't able to trust them. Shoka eventually gave a sad smile, surprising the other two. "I have my work cut out for me. But loving and supporting him will be easy. Is there more we can do?"

Both Hound Dog and Recovery Girl gave the same smile. "You're right. That part will be easy." Said Recovery Girl as she thought about her time with Izuku.

"No kidding. From what I heard, he's a wonderful kid. But until I learn more, that's all we can do for now. I'll be there anytime I'm needed." Said Hound Dog.

"Thank you. Both of you. I truly appreciate it. We only have the one guest room, but do you guys want to stay here for the night?"

"Thank you dearie, but I need my mattress for my back." Replied Recovery Girl.

"Thanks." Said Hound Dog before showing off her claws. "But I don't want to risk destroying the bed. But I'll come by tomorrow to check up on Izuku." Replied Hound Dog.

Shoka nodded in thanks. She escorted them out, and they said their goodbyes for the night. Shoka was just about to go back to her room to get some much-needed sleep but turned around to look at Izuku's door. She stood there for a couple seconds before silently entering his room. The light from the hallway illuminated the room just enough for her to see him. She leaned against the doorway with her arms crossed as she watched him, glad that he's ok.

Eventually she silently walked up, and kneeled next to his bed, and carefully placed her hand in his trying not to wake him. "I swear, I will do everything in my power to help you. You don't have to suffer alone anymore. I'm here to carry your burden with you." Shoka said quietly. She leaned over and gave him a gentle kiss on the forehead. "I love you." She whispered. As she backed away and stood up she noticed the small smile on his face, something she was happy to see.

Just as quietly as she entered, she left to go get some more sleep. It wasn't easy falling asleep with all that had happened, but she was an expert of falling asleep whenever she needed it.

*The next morning*

Shoka was sitting in the couch watching the news. She woke up early to try to ensure she was awake when Izuku woke up. Tsukuachi had texted her telling her that they were holding a press conference about all the arrests they had made yesterday. Apparently the news caught wind of the sting, because of course they did, and were demanding answers. The vultures already released news about the sting and it's spreading like wildfire. They figured the conference was the best way to prevent any reporters from twisting what happened, and trying to make Izuku look like the bad guy again.

Shoka had it on the only news stations she actually didn't hate, because at least the news lady was honest, and didn't blame victims. All in all she actually has a heart.

"And in other news, early yesterday police finished a large investigation ending in the arrest of fifty-three adults and four teenagers." Came the voice of young up and coming female newscaster Ishida Azumi from the TV. "It was a widespread investigation involving students, teachers, suburban families, nurses, doctors, and even police officers. Three heroes have also fallen under heavy scrutiny at the discovery of them turning a blind eye to the victims plight, and one facing charges for participating in the abuse. Each perpetrator was caught confessing to a range of crimes from harassment and assault, to near torture of one Izuku Midoriya." She said as she tried to maintain a professional demeanor, but she was obviously distraught about what she was reporting.

"Midoriya is known for being a victim of death row inmate Ukon Murisaki." Azumi could be barely heard whispering "My god." Under her breath as she had a horrified look on her face. "The main aggressor Ms. Soka Chiaki was arrested on multiple charges of child neglect, child abuse, assault, assault with a deadly weapon, lying to an officer during an investigation, and even a charge for attempted involuntary manslaughter via starvation. Her actions leave her facing up to 50 years in prison." She said, distress becoming more obvious as she continues. Azumi took a deep breath to try to act more professional. It barely worked. "Now we bring you to live feed of a press conference to answer questions about the investigation."

The news flickered over to the press conference with Three people sitting at a table with microphones in front of them. From right to left was the local police chief, Tsukauchi, and Nezu.

Tsukauchi stood up and silenced the press. "As you all know, Izuku Midoriya, survivor of Infamous Ukon Murisaki, has once again been victimized by those that were meant to care for him. After a two-week investigation, we have discovered many who not only turned a blind eye, but participated in the abuse. Evidence shows that the motivation was quirk discrimination and false accusations made during the Murisaki case. Police, heroes, and society as a whole has failed to protect him in his time of need. A fact that we WILL rectify. We will Not fail again. Are there any questions?"

As soon as she said that many reports raised their hands and started trying to ask their questions over each other. Tsukauchi gestured to a random middle-aged male reporter. "This is the second time has been made a 'victim'" he said snidely making finger quotes. "But how can we believe that Midoriya isn't at fault?" A majority of the reporters looked eager to get the answer, like they had planned to ask something similar.

The three were flabbergasted by the question, but they were prepared for such a thing to happen. "There are mountains of evidence of the culprits being the aggressors, including recorded confessions." Said the police chief, answering because he knew how protective of Midoriya, Tsukauchi has become and wasn't sure if she could keep her cool.

"But this is the second time the supposed offender was a respected member of society. It seems highly unlikely Midoriya isn't the one at fault." He said.

"How society views people have no meaning on whom they truly are or what they do behind closed doors." Slipped Tsukauchi, doing what she could to suppress her outrage at this reporter.

The reporter smiled smugly. "Exactly, we have no idea about who Midoriya truly is. He very well has the means to control someone."

This time Nezu answered. "While he does possess some ability to manipulate people, he isn't able to outright control them."

"What's your proof of that? He hasn't had the necessary testing someone with his kind of quirk is legally required. How do we know he isn't lying about it?"

"That testing isn't required until he reaches the age of 18, and MY quirk has proven he isn't lying about his. Besides, the same could be said of you." Tsukauchi shot back.

The questioning continued as wasn't only that reporter but several others tried to twist the facts to make Izuku at fault, knowing it would make a better story. Eventually when the reporters realized they wouldn't get any further with the line of questioning, they started targeting heroes failure to protect a single person.

The three answering questions were at their wits ends dealing with the presses questions, but they managed to keep their cool. It was obvious to them they just wanted a good story. It doesn't matter who they hurt or the damage they could do to society. They were just about ready to call the conference when a well known reporter raised his hands. They all recognized him as Taneo Tokudo, a good man with cares about the effects his stories have.

"Guess it's up to me to ask the important questions." He said in a kind tone, making all the others look at him questioningly, some of them who already asked questions looked offended. "How is the kid doing? Will he be ok?" Some reporters who were so into the earlier line of questions actually had the decency to look a bit sheepish. While others merely rolled their eyes, looking annoyed by the question, either believing he was missing a 'golden opportunity' at a great scoop, or that he was just being self-righteous. While the few who weren't into the earlier questions, perked up.

The three mentally thanked him, though they still looked downtrodden. "While he is doing better, he is still far from well. When he was first found, he was nothing but skin and bone, and still currently is. His heart had stopped on the scene, later being chalked up to overexertion in his poor condition. Thanks to the help from some doctors he is on the road to recovery, but will have to be medically monitored for the foreseeable future." Answered Tsukauchi.

A good portion of the reporters looked downtrodden as they wrote down her answers, while the rest looked like they didn't really care or even annoyed, some not even bothering writing anything down. "What's going to happen to him now?"

"He has already been adopted by one of the U.A. staff and the two moved into the U.A. family apartments. Where he will be watched over and receive the care he needs. Periodic inspections will be made of his living conditions to help him feel at ease." Stated Nezu, already knowing the question will open a floodgate of other questions. To which he was right as the reporters who weren't caring saw another chance to make a juicer story.

Even Tokudo recognized what was about to happen. "Thank you, I wish him a speedy recovery and happy life." He said sitting down.

Right as more questions were about to flood in the three stood up. "We apologize but that's all the time we have." Said the police chief as they all bowed. They walked off as most of the reporters were frantically asking questions about 'How they can trust Izuku not to be abused again.' It disgusted the others how they quickly switched their tune just to serve their own purposes.

Including Ishida Azumi, as the news switched back to her, only she wasn't notified of it, the producer saw this own golden opportunity as he heard her speak. "Seriously? NOW they pretend to care? God what is wrong with them. They don't care about the facts or the victim, they even tried to make his seem like the bad guy. They just want their next big scoop." She grumbled to herself as she watched a monitor off-screen still showing the end of the press conference.

"Azumi, you're back on." Said the producer with a smile. He watched as she fumbled getting back into a professional demeanor.

"In light of the news of the arrest, we here at (Insert generic news station name here.) took to the streets this morning to hear the public's opinions." She said before the switching to the footage of a female news correspondent asking a young adult man his opinion.

"Sounds to me like the police are just framing an innocent woman to cover their asses for failing to arrest that Midoriya kid the first time."

It switched to a woman in her 50's answering. "It's disgusting how long the poor boy suffered. This is twice it's happened. How could police and heroes ignore him? At least there are some who care and are doing something about it."

Now to a snobby looking woman in her 30's. "Please, the kid is just a villain. Why should we worry about what happens to him? Sounds to me that women was performing a civil service."

Onto a teenage girl with orange hair in a ponytail to one side looking distraught. "I hope the guy will be ok, he deserves to have a good life. I can't imagine the pain he's been through. At least police and heroes are making up for their mistakes. Those mother fu-*beep* who hurt him need to be punished."

The news switched back to Azumi, looking like she's still watching footage again. "At least some people have hearts. How can anyone say someone deserves to go through that? Or that he's a villain when there is tons of evidence on the contrary.

"Azumi." Said the producer with a smirk, as she quickly continued the news cast. He couldn't help but smile ear to ear, he knew he was going to get in trouble with the station for that, if not fired, but he was tired of all the heartless professionalism with the news. And he was sure many people in Japan were as well. He knew Azumi was. She confided in him that her dream career wasn't what she hoped, she wanted to report the truth, not twist the facts to a juicer story. She wants to help people with her stories, and give her honest opinion. But the station wouldn't let her. To unprofessional and rude they say. She is a good person and what she says is only 'rude' to those that are cruel.

So he decided to take matters into his own hands, and this heart wrenching story was the perfect way to do that. Azumi was known to talk to herself during clips, when she knew she wasn't on air. Or at least thought she knew. He believes he can run his own station, and Azumi would be perfect, so he showed the nation who she truly was. She was already gaining popularity quickly, and he believed this will skyrocket her popularity. He believed this was the right thing to do to his very core, now he just needed to convince her to join him. And get some people to help fund him, but he knows just the people to talk to.

*back at the apartment.*

Shoka just turned off the TV. There were several times she wanted to shut it off. It was deplorable what some of those people said. She knew that the Media was full of vultures, but that took the cake. At least there are a few good ones. She was also pissed by what the random citizens for what they said. She started taking deep breaths to calm herself when she heard sniffling coming from the hallway.

When she took a look she saw Izuku sitting against the wall, hugging his legs and his head on his knees. "Izuku, What's wrong?" She asked as she knelt in front of him concerned clear on her face.

Izuku's head shot up when she spoke, and he immediately started guarding himself with his arms as he quivered. "I'msorryIdidn'tmeantohurtyou!" He Yelled out quickly in fright.

Shoka gently placed a hand on one of his arms, making him flinch and Yelp in terror. "It's ok I'm not mad. I know you were scared and didn't mean to." She said comfortingly.

Izuku barely moves, he was still quivering and in a defensive position, but he moved his arms stiffly, so he can see her. It hurt so much seeing him scared of her again, but she continued to give him a reassuring smile.

After watching each other for over a minute, Izuku lowered his arms. But he transitioned into a fetal position still shaking and looking scared, tears still streaming out of his eyes.

Shoka wrapped him in a hug. Once again he flinched at the contact, but he eventually relaxed and melted into the embrace and embraced her back. He kept repeating "I'm sorry." As he cried into her shoulder. She told him it's ok every time as she held him and rubbed his back comfortingly.

They stayed that way for about 10 minutes, before Izuku calmed down. When Shoka realized it, she gently caressed his face with both hands. "No matter what, I will always love you. You will ALWAYS be safe with me." She said give it him a loving smile.

Izuku looked at her hopefully. "Then am I actually An Aizawa?" He asked.

Shoka was a little confused about the question, but didn't let it show. "Of course you are. Why would you think you're not?"

Izuku looked down and to the side dejected. "They kept calling me Midoriya."

Shoka's confusion only grew, but it eventually clicked. "You mean on the news?" She asked. Izuku nodded his head in confirmation. "That was for your protection." She answered. Now it was Izuku who was confused. "For one the news is full of vultures who would do anything to get a hold of you for a story. Then there is also the people who support Murisaki, and the eventual Chiaki supporters. If we let them believe that your name is still Midoriya, then they'll leave you alone." Shoka said with a warm smile.

Izuku couldn't really wrap his head around people actually leaving him alone. He's been a target for so long it just sounded like some sort of pipe dream. But he wanted to believe it. "O-okay." He stuttered, and gave a small smile of his own.

Shoka helped Izuku up and over to the coach as she told him she'll go get breakfast ready. She had to stop him from trying to do it himself. He told her he felt like he was taking advantage of her by not helping out at least. To which she simply told him he needed to worry about healing and getting better first. They can worry about that after he is confirmed healthy. It took awhile but he finally relented. As she stood at the stove cooking she couldn't help but smile. As bad as the night before was, things are starting to recover. Sure he seemed apprehensive around her again, but it's not surprising. She'll gain his trust as many times as it takes, she'll never hurt or abandon him.

*across town*

In a run down bar sat a young man with light blur hair and a severed hand on his face sat at the bar, while a man with black mist covering his head in a bartenders outfit was washing a glass behind the counter. The blue haired man just shut off the TV that was showing the news. They just finished the story about Izuku. The man's creepy smile can be seen on the sides of the hand. "Well well well, seems like those worthless heroes show their true colors again. Turning a blind eye to a victim? Heheheh they're making the game way to easy." He said in a raspy voice.

"Indeed. How can they trust the supposed heroes if they can't protect one kid?" Said the bartender with an ethereal voice as more of a statement than a question.

"Exactly. But if they want to switch the difficulty to easy, then I'll be more than happy to take advantage of it." Said the young man. "Kurogiri, I think it's time to put our plans into action."

"Patience Tomura." Said a gravelly voice from the TV against the far wall that showed nothing but static. "We do not yet have the necessary power or recourses."

Tomura's demeanor changed in an instant. He shot out of his chair and looked towards the TV angrily. "But master, We should strike while this debuff is active!" He screamed, sounding like a spoiled brat.

"While this would be a great opportunity, our Nomu project has yet to yield the necessary fruit. We don't have the tools to take down All Might." Said the voice calmly.

Tomura stomped his feet like a child having throwing a tantrum. "You told me I can do what I want! And I want to destroy All Might now!"

"I also taught you to make sure you have the necessary preparations." Said the voice.

At that Tomura calmed down. He crossed his arms with his pinkies sticking out and grumbled.

"Now that doesn't mean we can't stir up some discord." Said the voice. Tomura's smile slowly returned. "The heroes have presented us with an opportunity and it would be a shame pass it up. All we have to do is spread the seeds of distrust, and once they fully bloom, we end All Might and this Hero society forever."

Tomura started cackling. "Yes Master." He looked back at the other TV with a malicious smile. "And I think I know the perfect way to pull that off." He said ominously.


	9. Chapter 8 A New Friend

**Middernacht - I'm glad I'm able to convey feelings. I'm also a sucker for happy endings, but it will be a very bumpy ride.**

**DSpaceZ - oh trust me, it won't be. but they have to find out about his name change first. ;)**

* * *

Mei sighed as she was walking down the street on her way to school. She hasn't liked school for a long time now, it took away too much time that she could use making babies. Now she hated it even more, as it also took time she could be spending with Izuku. At least he'll be going to school with her soon, it will make coming here more tolerable.

It had been 2 weeks since Izuku left the hospital, and she'd visited a few times. For some reason she wasn't able to for a couple of days after the small welcoming party. Apparently Izuku was having some difficulty adjusting, and they wanted to give him time to do so. It sucked, but she understood, she spent her free time building babies for Izuku.

She still had difficulty understanding why she liked Izuku so much. What her mom said made sense, that it could be hero worship. But this wasn't the first time someone saved her, things can go horribly wrong with her babies after all. But she wanted to spend time with Izuku as much as she wanted to build babies. She's looking forward to when Izuku can visit the shop, he even promised to help her build babies in any way he can. He told her wasn't much though. But building babies and spending time with Izuku sounded the best. It made her giddy with excitement just thinking about it.

"Get out of my way freak." Said someone from behind before they slammed their shoulder into the back of hers. Obviously on purpose. She got a good look at her, and noticed it was a girl from her class. Yanai Yuno, one of the more popular girls if she remembers right. But she just ignored it. It often happens all the time after all. She didn't really care about anyone here, and they all called her a freak. Or at least no one says anything to the many that do.

It also got worse after the punks tried to rape her during break. She often heard that she should have been grateful that at least someone wanted to fuck her. That part did sting. What kind of assholes thinks rape is ever ok? But she wasn't going to fight back. Once she gets into U.A., she's not going to have to deal with these pricks anymore.

And speaking of the attempted rapists, with the help of Tsukauchi and Izuku's mom, their bail was set to high for them to get out. The prosecutor even told her family it'll be an open-and-shut case.

"Hey! That wasn't very nice! Apologize to her!" She heard a familiar voice yell from behind her. A huge smile broke out on her face before she even turned around to see Izuku wheeling up towards her. He shot her a reassuring smile before looking at the girls angrily.

Yuno turned around with a snobbish scowl on her face. "Excuse me? What makes you think you can tell ME what to do? And why should I apologize to a freak like her?"

Izuku wheeled up closer stopping in front of Mei who was starting to get worried. This was reminding her of the alleyway. But it did make her heart flutter. Once again despite his condition, he was standing up for her. Despite her worry, she had to admit, it was really hot.

Just like several times in the past month, she felt the urge to kiss him. But they aren't going out. 'His quirk does require female pheromones, maybe he can get some from kissing. Then maybe I can use helping him as an excuse to kiss him." She thought happily, daydreaming about her giving Izuku a big kiss after he rescues her.

"Because you ran into her and insulted her. That is extremely rude. So apologize." Responded Izuku with a glare.

Yuno bent forward, her face half a foot from Izuku's. "And what are you going to do if I don't, Huh? A little cripple like you can't do anything to me." She responded.

Izuku stood up from his wheelchair and glared down at her, being about 7 Inches taller than the girl. He wasn't going to hurt her.

Yuno looked unfazed. "Oh? You think I'm afraid of you? Please, a kindergartner is more intimidating." She said before pushing him back into his chair, causing it to start rolling backwards.

This action had brought Mei out of the stupor she found herself in. "Izuku!" She yelled as she quickly jumped to stop Izuku's chair. "Izuku let's just leave it alone, it's not worth it."

"But Mei it's not right. You don't deserve to be treated that way." He said upset.

"Izuku, I appreciate you standing up for me, but I don't care what that bitch says or does." She said with an assuring smile.

Izuku smiled back, but both of their attention was diverted when they heard the girl yell. "What the fuck did you just call me?" Yuno screamed angrily. She stomped over to the two of them. "A freak like you doesn't call me that." She said absolutely livid as she cocked her fist back.

"What's going on over here!" Came the voice of an older women. They all looked, and the girls recognized the women as the new vice principal.

Yuno gave them an evil grin, before adorning an upset look, accompanied by crocodile tears. When the VP walked up to them looking upset, she looked up at her. "Ms. Komori, these people were being mean to me." She said while fake crying.

The VP looked over at Mei and Izuku with a stern look. "Oh? Is that what happened?" She asked in a no nonsense tone. Her eyes widened slightly when she saw Izuku. And Izuku immediately knew she recognized him. He was looking forward to going to school as Izuku Aizawa, and not Izuku Midoriya. He was hoping she wouldn't say anything.

The two shook their heads. "No. She ran into my friend and kept calling her a freak. I just wanted her to apologize." Yuno gave a glare to Izuku while the VP wasn't looking. But switched back to looking upset quickly when the VP shook off the shock and looked back at her.

"Ms. Yuno, apologize now." Said Ms. Komori sternly,

Now it was Yuno who was shocked. "What? But..." she started but Ms. Komori put her hand up to stop her.

"Ah ah ah, I don't want to hear it. Apologize. Now." She said, voice leaving no room for argument. Yuno stood there completely stunned. This has never happened before. "Now!" Said Ms. Komori in a commanding tone.

Yuno gave Izuku and Mei a pissed off look. "Sorry." She said through gritted teeth.

"Now get to class, and I don't want to hear of you doing anything like this again." She ordered, and Yuno stomped off. Ms. Komori walked up to the two with a concerned smile. "Are you two ok?"

Mei was shell shocked, she had never seen any of the school staff side against Yuno. They always fall for her act or just don't care. "Um, y-yeah." She said Quietly.

"Y-yes th-thank you." Mumbled Izuku, nervous about the new adult, and that said adult might reveal his past.

"Good. So I take it you're the new student right?" She asked kindly.

"Uh y-yeah, that's me." Replied Izuku.

"There's no need to be nervous, I'm fairly new myself. I'm the vice principle here. Let me help get you settled."

"Um o-ok, thank y-you."

Mei shook off the daze she was in. "Can I come with?"

Ms. Komori smiled to her. "Sure, as long as your in class on time."

Mei smiled at her. "Ok." She said happily before stepping behind Izuku, ready to push him.

"Mei you, don't need to push me, I can do it." Said Izuku. He still wasn't comfortable with people helping him. He didn't want to be a burden.

"Izuku I keep telling you. I'm happy to help. Just relax and enjoy the ride." She said merrily.

Izuku lowered his head trying to hide the blush on his cheeks. "Thank you." He replied shyly.

Ms. Komori noticed his blush. 'Ah, young love.' We thought. "Follow me." She said gesturing them forward.

"Ms. Komori?" Called Mei, gaining her attention. "How did you know she was the one lying?" She asked.

Ms. Komori laughed. "I wasn't born yesterday. I literally saw her about to hit one of you. I'm guessing she has gotten away with that kind of behavior before, but she won't with me." She said looking back at them with a smile. One the two of them returned. Albeit shyly in Izuku's case.

The three walked with Mei and Izuku chatting, they were talking about some "babies" Mei was working on, with Izuku helping give her ideas. Once they made it to Ms. Komori's office, Mei was reluctant to leave, but she should get to class. She gave Izuku a hug, which as usual Izuku flinched at, but he quickly returned it and melted into the embrace. It wasn't lost on Mei how touch starved Izuku is. He went years without any kind of affection. She was more than happy to make up for it. By the time they separated the number in Izuku's head was 436. Mei was by no means afraid to show affection.

Ms. Komori waited patiently for them to say goodbye. Once Mei left, Ms. Komori took her place behind Izuku to push him. "Um, M-Ms. Komori. Y-you don't h-have t-to push me." Izuku stuttered.

"Like your girlfriend told you earlier, I'm happy to help." She said kindly.

Izuku's face exploded in crimson. "G-G-GIRLFRIEND!?" He screamed.

"Yeah, you two are dating right?" She asked.

"N-n-no! W-We're just f-friends!" He near yelled nervously, Before looking down dejectedly. "Besides, she's never been into someone like me." He whispered not knowing Ms. Komori heard him.

She looked down at him sadly. 'He reminds me of Kinoko.' She thought before looking in the direction Mei left with a kind, knowing smile. 'But I saw the way she looks at you. It's only a matter of time.' She thought. "Sorry for the mistake. Now let's get you situated. Need to find out what class you're in." She said kindly.

"It's ok." He said still a little down. He was wheeled into her office, and she sat down in her chair, and started looking up what class he's in, so she can take him to his teacher before class starts.

"Oh, it seems you'll be in the same class as my..." she started before there was a knock on the door.

Both of them looked towards the door as someone started to enter. It was a girl with brown hair that reached her shoulders and covered her eyes. "Hey mom, I'm here." She said before noticing Izuku in the room, and she got really embarrassed. "I-I'm sorry! I'll wait outside!" She apologized, turning around to quickly leave.

"Wait. Your timing is perfect actually." Said Ms. Komori.

Komori turned around shyly. "Really? Why?"

"Well it seems both of you were put into the same class, so I can take you both to the teacher." Said Ms. Komori as she stood up.

"Oh, o-ok." Said Komori, blushing from embarrassment.

Ms. Komori once again stepped behind Izuku to push him along. No one noticed Komori's eyes widen when she realized that Izuku was in a wheelchair. She looked Izuku up and down, and noticed the condition he's in. He looks frail. Barely a scrap of muscle on him, like he had just woken up from a long coma recently. "Sweetie it's not nice to stare." Said Mrs. Komori.

Komori's face turned red. "I'm sorry!" She yelled as she bowed to Izuku.

"I-it's fine. I know my appearance can be off-putting." Izuku said rubbing the back of his neck.

"No! It's not that, I swear! I was just a little surprised. I was being rude." She said frantically, getting quieter and more solemn as she talked.

"It's ok, you don't have to apologize. And if you still feel the need to do so, then I forgive you." Said Izuku kindly. He was honestly really nervous talking to the girl, and a bit afraid to be honest, of both of them really, granted he's pretty much afraid of every new person. He is also worried someone would recognize him and his life would return to how it once was. But he couldn't let someone beat themselves up like that.

Komori looked at Izuku for a couple seconds. "O-ok. Thank you." She said gently. 'He's not going to call me a weirdo?' She thought.

Ms. Komori couldn't help but smile at the exchange. She was happy to see Izuku being kind to her daughter. "Let me introduce you two. Aizawa Izuku, this is my daughter Komori Kinoko. This is her first day as well." (A/N I researched Japanese introductions and found out they say their last name first.)

"Hi. P-pleasure to m-met you." Said Komori with a bow.

"N-nice to meet y-you to." Said Izuku, doing the best bow he could from his wheelchair.

Mrs. Komori never lost her smile as she saw the two acting so nervous towards each other. "Come on, let's get going." She said before following her daughter out of the office while pushing Izuku.

It was a mostly silent trip as both Izuku and Komori were too nervous, and Ms. Komori didn't want to make them to uncomfortable by forcing a conversation. She knew about the issues her daughter had at her previous school, and while she wanted her to break out of her shell, it's best it come naturally. Then there is also the fact who Izuku is. Present Mic and Midnight had come to the school one day to talk to her and the principle, though that man is entirely useless, he cares far more about prestige than the students. Anyways they came and told them about Izuku. While they were polite about the whole thing, the hidden threats weren't lost on her if they allowed any harm to befall him. The threats didn't bother her, she could tell it came from a place of caring. She would have protected Izuku regardless, she couldn't stand bullies and abusive teachers. She was already working on taking care of that problem anyways.

Before long they made it to the teachers room, and Ms. Komori let the two in. They went straight over to a woman in her late 50s as she was doing paperwork at her desk. "Ms. Michie." Called Ms Komori.

The women turned to look at the three, give them a gentle smile after seeing who it was. "Hello Ms. Komori. I take it these are the new students?" She asked sweetly.

"Yup this is them. Make sure to take good care of them please." Said Mrs. Komori returns the smile.

Both Komori and Izuku bowed to the teacher. "It's nice to meet you Michie Sensei." They said in unison.

"It's nice to meet you two as well." She said to the two, then turned to Mrs. Komori. "Don't worry, I'll take care of them."

Mrs. Komori smiled, nodded, and walked out of the room.

Michie Sensei watched as she left, and as soon as the door was shut, her demeanor changed. She went from looking sweet and kind to annoyed and angry. "Fucking bitch." She mumbled under her breath. Both Izuku and Komori's eyes widened in surprise, and Izuku's worry grew dramatically. "What?" Spat Michie Sensei.

Both spoke at the same time again. "Nothing."

Michie Sensei looked over the two, her eyes lingering on Izuku with a glare. The hate in her eyes was something Izuku recognized instantly. He's seen that look to many times to not be able to. He could tell there was something she wanted to say to him, but held back. Probably because the recent arrests of a good deal of the staff at his last school.

"Tch, whatever. Just wait outside until we go to the classroom." She spat as she turned back to whatever she was working on.

Izuku didn't expect it when Komori grabbed hold of his wheelchair, turning him around and fast walked the two out.

After Komori stopped and positioned them against the wall and out of the way, she leaned against the wall, looking relieved to be out of there.

"Y-you d-didn't have to do th-that you know. I c-could have g-got out on m-my own." Said Izuku nervously, but grateful for the assistance.

But Komori didn't hear the gratefulness. "I'm sorry!" She said quickly, thinking she made him angry.

"N-no it's ok. I'm thankful f-for the help. W-why did you d-do it?" He asked curiously.

Komori started to poke her index fingers together. "Well I saw the way she looked at you. I don't know why she would give you such a hateful look, but I couldn't just leave you there with her." She said embarrassed.

Izuku gave her a kind smile. "Thank you. It was very nice of you." He said gratefully, surprised he didn't stutter.

Komori smiled back. "No problem." She said with a light blush.

The two stayed there in a comfortable silence. Neither knew how to start a conversation, but didn't feel awkward just staying silent. It wasn't long before Michie Sensei walked out. "Follow me." She said, sounding irritated.

Once again Izuku was surprised when Komori started pushing his wheelchair again after he moved away from the wall. He simply sideways glanced at her and gave an appreciative smile. A smile she returned with a small one of her own.

* * *

*in the classroom*

Mei sat with her head in between her crossed arms on her desk. She's wanting the day to be over already. The only thing she looked forward to during school was being able to spend time with Izuku, but not knowing his schedule or classes, that might be difficult.

She completely ignored Yuno as she started berating her the moment she walked into the classroom, something that pissed the girl off. But she did shut up but continues to give Mei death glares. Mei has no doubt she would try something later, but she couldn't care less.

Eventually the teacher walked into the room, so she got her head off the desk. She hated the teacher because she was a complete bitch, but she didn't want to get detention. Again.

After the morning greeting was done, the teacher told them they had two new students joining the class today. The teacher looked annoyed about it, but Mei was silently ecstatic. 'Is Izuku joining this class?' She silently hoped.

The teacher called the new students in, and Mei couldn't hold her excitement as she saw Izuku get wheeled in by a girl she assumed was the second new student. They stood in from of the class and bowed. Before they could start their introductions Mei couldn't hold in her excitement anymore and rushed to the front of the class. Ignoring the flinching from both of them she lunged in and hugged Izuku. "OMG Izuku! I can't believe we'll be in the same class together!" She nearly screamed in his ear.

Izuku was completely embarrassed as he heard a few giggles and tsk's from other students. But that quickly melted away as he enjoyed the embrace, he just feels so calm when they embrace. He returned it as the rest of the world melted away.

They were both brought back to reality by the teacher loudly clearing her throat to get their attention. "Miss Hatsume, return to your seat now before I give you detention!" Scolded Ms. Michie.

Despite the threat Mei reluctantly separated from Izuku, she gave him an elated smile, before returning to her seat. 443.

"Now with that interruption over." Said Ms. Michie, trying to embarrass Mei, but she seemed unfazed and just sat there with a cheek to cheek grin on her face. "Introduce yourselves to the class. You start." She said as she gestured to Izuku.

"Um, hi, I'm Mi-AIZAWA IZUKU!" He said, yelling as he corrected himself. Everyone looked at him funny as he said this, but shrugged it off. "I enjoy studying heroes and playing video games. And I want to attend U.A. to become a hero." He said, nervous at first before stating his goal with resolution that made Mei proud, and Komori looked at Izuku in awe of the conviction he showed.

A few snickers were heard through the classroom. Looking to see who the assholes were, Mei saw it was Yuno, her friends, and even the teacher. This pissed off Mei to no end, she was about to shoot up from her seat to yell at them, but noticed Izuku shaking his head with a caring smile. She knew he didn't want her to get herself in trouble. So she begrudgingly stayed silent, still livid and imaging using them as test subjects for her more dangerous babies.

"Ok young lady, introduce yourself." Said Ms. Michie after she calmed down enough.

"My name is Komori Kinoko, I like mushrooms, both as food and in general. And I..." she trailed off before quickly side glancing Izuku. "I want to attend UA and be an Idol hero." She stated firmly. She was happy to not hear anyone laugh at her, but she did look towards her teacher who looked thoughtful before she shrugged.

Ms. Michie walked up to the two. "Yeah, yeah, everyone wants to become a hero, but so few ever are capable." She said offhandedly, everyone could tell she was implying she didn't think either of them could. "There are two empty seats there." She gestured to two seats on the left side of the room. "Choose one, I don't care, just don't interrupt my class or you'll have hell to pay." She threatened.

Komori wheeled Izuku to the desks, and knew which one to give him. Because the pink haired girl from earlier, who was currently smiling wide sat next to the first empty desk. She preferred sitting as close to the back as possible anyway. But she felt glad to sit near him, she had a good feeling about him, and he seemed really nice. That sentiment was confirmed when she finished helping him he turned to her with the sweetest smile she had ever seen and said. "Thank you for all the help, I really appreciate it."

She smiled back and responded. "Happy to help." Before moving to her seat.

*a few hours later*

The bell rang for lunch and Mei had burst from her seat to Izuku's desk. "Izuku! Want to eat lunch together?" She asked excitedly.

Izuku look down and away while scratching his cheek with an index finger while blushing. "Yeah I'd love to. Do you need to buy a lunch?" He asked.

Mei rapidly shook her head. "Nope, my parents started making me bring a lunch now to ensure I eat." She said nonchalantly.

"And I'm guessing they inspect it to make sure you ate?" He said with a teasing yet still nervous smile.

Mei wouldn't look him in the eyes as she scratched the back of her head with a light blush. "Weeeeelll..." she said. Shortly after they both laughed.

"Um, e-excuse me." Came a voice from behind Izuku. He and Mei looked towards the source and saw komori." I-is it okay if I-I eat with y-you g-guys?" She asked nervously.

The two gave her smiles. "I'm cool with it." Replied Mei.

"Y-yeah sure, h-happy to have y-you." Stuttered Izuku.

'She's just pretending to be nice. She'll hurt you in the end. They all will.' Said the voice in Izuku's head. But he ignored it. But it was difficult.

Komori smiled at them. "Thank you."

"Let's get the desks put together." Said Mei ecstatic. This was the first time she's ate with anyone in years. She had gotten used to eating alone, and truly didn't care. So she was surprised with herself at how excited she was to eat with other people.

Before they had the chance to start moving desks, Yuno walked up to Komori. "Come eat with us. You don't want to waste time with these freaks." She said smugly.

Komori didn't even bother looking at her. She didn't like this girl already because of her snickering at Izuku earlier, now she really disliked the girl. "No thank you, I'm good here." She said plainly, as she started to reposition her desk to be facing the sides of Mei's and Izuku's which Mei seemed to be ignoring Yuno as well and positioned both Izuku's and hers facing each other.

Yuno looked at her incredulously. "Look, let me give you some advice. Waste time with these two and your social life is over. I'm trying to help you. So come eat with us before you make a huge mistake." She said.

Komori turned to her, and glared at Yuno as her hair repositioned and revealed one of her eyes. Her iris is a warm brown with her pupil being an x, making them look like the cap of cross-sliced shiitake mushrooms. Yuno slightly recoiled at the sight. "The only mistake I see in front of me is affiliating with you. So leave us alone." She said curtly, continuing her glare.

Yuno quickly regained her bearings. "Fine." She yelled before grumbling as she walked off, loud enough for them to still hear. "Try to be nice and this is what I get?"

After she saw Yuno sit down, Komori turned around to see Izuku in awe of her, and Mei smiling broadly at her. She blushed as she sat down, and started getting her lunch out.

"That was amazing Komori." Said Izuku.

Komori's blush intensified. "I-it was nothing." She stuttered, going back to her shy nature.

"It wasn't nothing, it was awesome. I honestly didn't expect that from you." Said Mei.

"Well sh-she was being m-mean. I d-don't like it when people t-treat others l-like that. S-So I had t-to say s-something." Said Komori.

"Huh. Figured I would have learned not to judge people based on first impressions." Mumbled Mei before digging into her lunch.

Komori started to unwrap her lunch when she heard Izuku quietly speak. "I really like your eyes." Her face burst into crimson as she looked over to Izuku who was the same shade of red and his hands covering his mouth as he looked down embarrassed. She didn't even know her bangs were out of the way of one of her eyes.

Mei started chuckling. "It doesn't help to get embarrassed when you flirt Izuku." She teased, making Izuku to turn so red they could almost feel the heat he radiated. Komori and Mei couldn't help but giggle at the sight.

As Izuku continued to blush, Mei stuck out her hand to Komori. "I'm Hatsume Mei, inventor extraordinaire." She greeted.

"Komori Kinoko." She greeted simply as she shook Mei's hand.

Once Izuku had calmed down they ate their lunch making small talk and getting to know each other. Not noticing the glare Yuno was shooting their way.

* * *

*after school*

The three of them were leaving the school, with Izuku being pushed by Mei. "Now that School is over, I have a baby to show you Izuku! Can you come over?" She asked excitedly.

"Um, sure, just let me call and ask my mom." He answered hesitantly. This would be the first time in years he's gone to a friends house. Last time he did was at his former friend Kacchan's house when he was 4. But this was after she started bullying him, and he ended up with a nasty burn in the process. So going over to someone's house again made him scared and nervous. But he didn't want to offend Mei, but also genuinely wanted to spend time with her.

But Mei picked up on his discomfort. "Hey you don't have to if you don't want to, I understand. So don't force yourself on my behalf." She said in a kind reassuring tone.

Izuku was lost in his own memories a bit, and honestly forgot Komori was with them as well.

"No. I-I want to. I can't let my past bind me and hold me back." He said solemnly before turning around to give Mei a smile. "Besides, I want to spend more time with you."

Mei couldn't stop herself from blushing. "I'm glad to hear it. Now make that call, I'm eager to show you the baby, and some others I'm working on." She said slightly shy.

Izuku nodded and rolled off to make the call, after realizing Komori was still there. He didn't want to be rude.

After Izuku was a few feet away and out of earshot, Komori looked to Mei worried. "What did he mean about his past?" She asked.

Mei's face fell quickly. "I can't tell you much, partially because I don't know much myself, but it's also not my place to say. But Izuku hasn't had a good life. So he has a lot of difficulty trusting people, even his mom." Said may solemnly.

Komori was saddened by what she heard, but was confused as well. "How do you not know? You two seem like you've known each other for years." She said.

Mei chuckled before looking at Komori. "Really?" She asked then looked back towards Izuku. "I've only known him for about a month." She said.

"Really? So how did you two meet?" Asked Komori.

"I was about to be raped, and he came to save me. He did really well in a two on one fight, before he was blindsided by the third. A hero saved us afterwards, but I still consider him a hero. Despite his condition being worse than it was now, he jumped into a fight without a shred of hesitation. He's my hero that's for sure. And I'm going to make sure my babies help him along the way." She spoke with fondness and determination.

Komori looked between Mei and Izuku a few times. There were many things about what she just heard that horrified her. But one part stuck out the most. 'Worse than he looks now?' She thought. Not even wanting to think of the horror he could have been through. She assumed his look was caused by his quirk, but now realizes that it isn't the case. Someone did this to him. Yet he still fought to protect someone. Looking back at Izuku, with a smile. "I'm sure he will be one. Someone with his determination can't possibly fail." She stated.

"Mhm." Mei hummed, staring at Izuku for a bit longer before smiling back at Komori. "You said you wanted to be a hero too right?" She asked getting excited. Her maniacal inventor side breaking through. She moved right in Komori's face, causing the girl to get nervous. "I'll make you some babies too. You'll be undefeatable!" She exclaimed.

Komori got nervous by Mei's sudden change. "I-I've been m-meaning to ask. Wh-wh-what do you m-mean by b-babies?" She asked.

"That's what she calls her inventions." Came the voice of Izuku. They turned and saw Izuku rolling back up. He saw Komori's discomfort. "Don't worry, she means no harm. Well, intentional harm." Said Izuku, earning a pout from Mei, which he found very cute. "She's just like that when she's excited. And she's always excited when her babies are involved." He explained. Thankful he is getting his stutter under control around Komori after getting to know her better.

Izuku's explanation did little to ease Komori's nervousness. 'Intentional harm?' She silently asked herself. She could only imagine the kinds of accidents Mei might have caused. But despite that, she felt that she could trust the two, and be good friends with them. "S-sure, I'll come over. Just let me ask my mom." This time it was Komori's turn to walk away to make a call.

Mei turned to Izuku. "So what are the conditions?" She asked.

"How did you know there would be conditions for me to come over?" Asked Izuku.

"Please. I know I have the social skills of a rock, but anyone could see how protective of you your mom is." Said Mei with a smirk.

Izuku chuckled, then went silent with a smile as he thought back to his time with his mom. It had been so long since he's had a loving guardian, he still wasn't used to it. And with how protective his new mom is, it reminded him of his birth mother Inko. His smile slowly faded and was replaced with a dejected look as he thought of his birth parents.

Mei quickly grew worried. She knelt in front of Izuku and placed a hand on his shoulder to gain his attention. "Izuku? What's wrong?" She asked.

Izuku came out of his stupor. "Huh? Oh, sorry. I'm fine. Just some... some painful memories. There's no need to worry." He said.

Mei wouldn't let him carry any burden on his own though. "I'm here for you if you need to talk you know." She said with a reassuring smile.

Izuku smiles back. "Thank you. But not today. Despite some set backs, today's been a good day. We made a new friend after all." He said, saying that last part looking toward Komori with a smile who was still talking on her phone. Mei followed his gaze and also smiled at the thought of having another friend. The second either of them have made in years. "I just don't want to bring it down. So let's enjoy ourselves." He said with a bright friendly smile.

Mei nodded and hugged Izuku as a way to comfort him. 449.

"So what are the conditions?" Asked Mei as they separated.

"Well I need to text her when we get there. And she's going to contact your parents to make sure they'll be home, if not she's going to ask if one of my aunts can keep an eye on us." He said. It was on the overprotective side, but he appreciated it. It showed how much she cared.

Mei nodded her head in acknowledgment as Komori walked up smiling. "She said I can go."

At this Mei's maniacal inventor side came back. She got in Komori's face with that slightly maniacal smile she does. "Great! I can't wait to show you my babies! I just know my babies will help!" She near yelled.

Komori was a little freaked out by this action, having not seen this side of Mei until just a few minutes ago, and was regretting her decision a bit. But she looked towards Izuku and saw him smiling at her with a sympathetic smile. It told her he understood her discomfort, but he didn't look worried in the slightest. It helped her calm down. "I-I can't wait." She managed to squeak out.

"Let's go!" She yelled as she rushed to Izuku and started speed walking off while pushing him.

Komori stood there for a bit stunned by what just happened. But once her brain rebooted she realized she was being left behind. "Wait! Slow down!" She called rushing after Mei.

What the group didn't know was they had someone eavesdropping on them. A girl from their class pulled out her cell phone. "They're all going to the pink freaks house. Maybe we should hold off on the plan."

"Please. We can take on those losers. This just makes our task easier. Now hurry up, I know the perfect place. I'll send you the location. Just make sure you get here before they do." Said a female voice on the other end before the dial tone was heard. The girl sighed before running off in the general direction the three went.

Komori did manage to convince Mei to slow down with a bit of help from Izuku. "Sorry. I'm just really excited." She exclaimed sheepishly.

"It's ok. I know what it's like to be able to share your interests with someone. Remember, I really like mushrooms." Said Komori.

"Speaking of that, what is it about mushrooms that you like so much?" Asked Izuku.

Komori's smile grew. "What's not to like? Not only are several species of mushrooms absolutely delicious, they can do a wide variety of effects. Some can literally kill a person. With a range of slow to fast, and painful or so subtle you don't even know until it's too late. There are even some that will paralyze you. Then there are the psychedelic mushrooms. It's always interesting to hear people's experiences. Though I do get annoyed when people won't stop asking me to grow those for them." She said excitedly, but looked truly annoyed at the final statement.

"You grow mushrooms?" Ask Izuku, listening intently as he's always interested in learning new things. Mei wasn't very interested in the conversation, but she gave the courtesy of listening, and planned on adding to the conversation. She's been in many conversations where it was like talking to a brick wall, or even people telling her to just shut up. She wasn't going to act that way to her friends.

Komori poked her index fingers together. "Um, yeah. I can with my quirk." She said shyly.

Both Izuku's and Mei's eyes lit up. "What's your quirk?" They asked simultaneously.

Komori sighed. "It's not anything special." She said. Getting into her backpack she ripped out a piece of paper from one of her notebooks. She held the paper on her flattened palm and place the other over it. "It's name is Mushroom, I can make the spores of any mushroom, and they will grow instantly on any surface." She said as she demonstrated, a variety of different mushrooms growing on the paper.

Dejected she looked at Izuku and Mei expecting ridicule, only they looked astounded instead.

"That's an amazing quirk!" Said Izuku excitedly.

"No kidding! I already have a couple ideas for babies with a quirk like that!" Said Mei with the same level of enthusiasm.

Komori was taken off guard, that was the last thing she expected to hear. 'There's no way that's what they actually think.' She thought. She looked down solemnly. "Y-you guys don't th-th-think my q-quirk is stupid a-and gross?" She asked, completely expecting them to tell her they were joking.

"No. Why would we think that?" Asked Izuku truly confused. Mei looked just as lost as Izuku.

"W-well aside from my m-mom that's what e-everyone says about m-m-my quirk. Even my o-own dad tells me m-my dream is u-unrealistic with a q-quirk as u-useless as mine." She says looking ready to break down.

Mei places her hands on Komori's shoulders, and looked her straight in the eyes with a serious expression. "Those people sound like dumbasses then. A ton of heroes quirks sound useless On the surface. How useful does Best Jeanists or Edgeshots quirks sound?"

Komori was silent as she thought about the heroes quirks. "I guess th-they don't sound h-heroic." She admitted.

"See? And they are the 4th and 5th top heroes. You can't judge a quirk based on the surface." Said Mei, hoping Izuku was listening as well.

"There are many things you can do with your quirk Komori." Said Izuku gaining her attention. "You can make food for those in natural disasters. Completely cover a villain slowing them if not completely stopping their movements. Create paralyzing agents..." he said before dissolving into a mumbling spree of things she could do with her quirk.

Komori was wide-eyed. Izuku had only just heard what her quirk does, and he's already thinking of many ways she could use her quirk as a hero.

Mei Chuckled as she watched Izuku's mumbling spree. "See? Your quirk is awesome. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

Komori couldn't believe what she was hearing, while Mei brought Izuku out of his mumbling and calming him down after he realized what he was doing. 'They really believe in me that much when we barely even know each other?' She thought. Hearing their belief felt like a huge weight she had carried for years lift off her shoulder. It's true her mom believed in her, but now she had more people on her side. It made her want to work a lot harder to reach her goal.

Komori was brought back to reality by Mei's voice. "So Komori. I've been meaning to ask. Your mom is the new vice principle right?" Asked Mei.

The three of them started walking again. "Yeah, she is. Why?"

"Why did she start a week ago and you only started today?" Asked Mei.

"I've actually been wondering why you were a new student myself." Admitted Izuku.

"It was my moms idea. Apparently there was a huge scandal at another school recently. The staff was harassing a student and a majority of them lost their jobs with some of them actually getting arrested." She said, oblivious to Izuku's worry that she might figure out that student was him. "So the old vice principle transferred to that school to try to get it back on its feet, and my mom applied to the position here. She was a teacher at another school. So because I wasn't really attached to my old school, she asked if I would help her get information on some staff members here. She's worried there might be some staff members here that are like the staff from that school, and she cares about student safety. I was actually put in Ms. Michie's class because she also applied to the position and was passed over despite her seniority. My mom is worried about what that might mean. So she had me start a week after her with the hopes the staff won't realize I'm her daughter." Concluded Komori.

Mei glances over at Izuku. Despite not know many details of his past, she just knew Komori was talking about him. "Do you know what they did?" She asked, wanting answers so she could help Izuku.

Komori shook her head. "My mom wouldn't tell me. She wouldn't even tell me the name of the school or student." She started rubbing the back of her head. "That's probably for the best though. I didn't even look into it. I'm afraid of what I might find." She said.

That statement made Mei think. How much did Izuku go through? How much pain has he felt? How horrifying was his past? And how would it affect her to learn it? She stared at Izuku a bit. 'No, this isn't about me.' She thought. Like Komori she found herself afraid of what she might find. So she won't search for anything. Though that didn't mean she wouldn't be there for Izuku. She'll still push him to tell her about his past, and be there to listen to him and possibly be a shoulder to cry on. In the meantime she'll be the best friend he could ever have.

"You know, I told you guys what my quirk is. But you didn't tell me what yours are." Came the voice of Komori, pulling Mei from her thoughts.

Yet another subject she knew Izuku was uncomfortable with. But this one she felt it might be best to help encourage him. "My quirk is zoom." She stated while pointing to her eyes. "It allows me zoom up to 5 km away, and if I'm real steady, I can use it as a microscope. Really helps when fine-tuning my babies." She stated happily.

Izuku rubbed the back of his neck, truly uncomfortable. "My q-quirk isn't anything special." She said hoping to deflect the question.

"Oh come on, I told you my quirk despite me saying literally the exact same thing about it." Said Komori trying to encourage him.

Izuku felt a hand on his shoulder, he turned and saw it was Mei. She, too, had an encouraging smile. 'She accepts me despite knowing my quirk.' He thought then looked towards Komori. 'Maybe she will to. And if she doesn't at least I have Mei and my family...hopefully' he thought. "Well my quirk is ca..." he started before seeing Komori getting placed in a headlock and pulled backwards.

Before he even had a chance to react, he felt a tug on his chair. Then next thing he knew he was being pulled backwards hard. It took all his strength to not fall out of his chair as he was pulled into an alley. All of a sudden he is roughly turned around, and he was flung into the air as his wheelchair was flipped. He landed on the ground hard smacking his head on the concrete in the process.

"Izuku!" He heard Mei scream.

"Shut it freak!" Said a male voice, as Izuku also heard Mei groan in pain.

This set Izuku off. Completely Ignoring the pain he's feeling, and with the help of adrenaline he turned around to see Yuno looking at him smugly. Behind her on the left, Mei was wrapped up in rope that a guy was holding. The rope was glowing, Izuku guessed that the guy was using his quirk to control the rope. On the Right Komori was still in a headlock, a girl had her, but in the girls other hand was what looked to be an ethereal blade, held to Komori's face, so she could see it.

"Look at what we have here. Three losers that need to learn their place." Said Yuno condescendingly.

"Let them go!" Said Izuku angrily as he started to stand up slowly, while ignoring the wet feeling falling down his face.

"Now why would we do that? We went through all the trouble of grabbing you. And we haven't done what we planned on doing yet." Said Yuno.

"And what would that be?" Asked Izuku as he wobbly got to his feet.

"Just a good old-fashioned beating. You need to learn not to talk back to me after all." She said before turning to Komori. "And to be gracious when I do something nice." She turned back to Izuku and lifted her hand, a fireball appeared in her hand. "Now since none of this happened until you showed up, I think I'll start with you."

Izuku's eyes went wide as he recognized that quirk. "That quirk. You're the sister of the guy who assaulted Mei!" He yelled. Anger present on his face.

"Unfortunately. I really don't like that idiot. Especially after he got arrested, him damaging the family name and all. But Mei should have been grateful that someone showed any interest in her at all." She said in an annoyed demeaning tone.

Izuku's rage multiplied a thousand fold at hearing what she said. He could even see the hurt look Mei had at hearing it. "WHAT!? How could you ever think what he was doing is ever ok!?" Yelled Izuku. He was surprised when Yuno and her lackeys recoiled back slightly in fear, Mei and Komori even looked shocked. The strangest part was that time looked like it slowed down to half speed. He felt the same energy from that night two weeks ago flow from his chest to his eyes, first in a burst, then in a steady stream. The number in his head now read 441. What he didn't know was that his eyes were glowing blood-red.

"Heheheh." Chuckled Yuno nervously before clearing her throat and regaining her composure. "Yeah, well freaks like her won't have anyone interested in them otherwise. But I'm done talking. Time to get to business." She said condescendingly and a little crazed. She threw the fireball right at Izuku.

Izuku, understanding this energy he was feeling is his quirk, yet still didn't know how he got any pheromones to power it decided to let his instincts take over because he had no experience with it. It was the only chance he had to save Mei and Komori he had after all. He raised his hand and the energy flowed through, and he shot an energy blast at the fireball. Colliding the 2 quirks canceled each other out, causing a small blast in the process. 439.

Yuno looked absolutely pissed. "How dare you! You need to learn your place! You have no right to stop me!" She screamed.

Izuku in turn let the energy once again flow through to both of his arms, creating a ball of energy in both hands. While the previous one was the size of a football, these were the size of basketballs. "I have every right. You aren't entitled to anything. Let them go now, and I'll allow you to walk away." Said Izuku demandingly. Izuku was bluffing, he had no idea if he would be able to beat her and figured this was their best chance of getting out of here. 430.

"Ha! You think you can take me?! I'll show you how wrong you are!" Yelled Yuno as she prepared two fireballs herself, just like Izuku's they were larger too. She wasted no time in throwing them.

Izuku shot his attack in reaction. But it didn't stop there, he noticed Yuno let loose a barrage of fireballs right behind the first two. So in response he let the energy flow through freely, allowing him to send barrages of his own. 422. The two quirks colliding midair. 410. He knew allowing his quirk to flow like this was dangerous. 398. But he was going to do what it took to save his friends. 386. Izuku was internally begging for his quirk to allow him to save them. 373. He felt the flow of energy increase, as the amount of energy blasts increased. 355.

Komori was in awe at the sight, as the two sent barrage after barrage of attacks. 'How could he say that's nothing special?' She thought. Before long, Izuku's attacks were getting closer and closer to Yuno, but she had no idea how long he could keep this up for. She knew she didn't have the time to just stand idle. She needed to do something.

The girl that had a hold of her still had a strong grip and didn't let her guard down, despite the spectacle in front of her. But what she didn't know was how subtle Komori's quirk could be. So she went with one of the idea's Izuku gave her. She started to blast spores out of the hand by her side, palms pointed directly at the girl. She wanted to cover the girl in mushrooms, in an attempt to slow her down, so she could fight out.

It worked better than she thought. The girl felt a wait on her legs and something pull on her stockings. She looked down and saw mushrooms growing up her, and she started to freak out. Letting go of Komori she started trying to cut them off with her ethereal blade. "Ew, ew, ew, get them off!" She screamed. Komori took this opportunity to deck the girl in the face, sending her falling on her ass from the surprise attack. Before she even had a chance to do anything, Komori delivered a round kick to the side of her head, effectively knocking her out, but she remained on guard for a few seconds just in case.

At the same time Mei was both confused on how Izuku was able to do what he was doing, and proud of him. He told her that he couldn't do much with his quirk without female pheromones. She didn't doubt that Izuku told her the truth, but it boggled the mind. It was a question to save for later. She was happy to see Izuku stand up not just for himself, but for her once again. It made her heart flutter when she saw him defend her both physically and from Yuno's words.

She shook her head. This wasn't the time to be love struck, she had to do something. All of a sudden the girl holding Komori started screaming. After that, the rope binding her loosened. She turned and saw her captor was distracted. So she took the chance to kick him in the groin. He quickly fell to his knees and the ropes fell off her. After she was free, she delivered a sloppy push kick straight to his face. She heard a crunch come from under her boot, and she knew she broke his nose. Not that she cared. He fell to the ground, knocked out by her guess.

With the power of anime and plot, Mei and Komori turned to each other at the same time, ready to help free the other. Only to notice that they were already both free. But there was still one more that needed taken care of. "We need to help Izuku!" Proclaimed Mei, earning a nod from Komori in agreement.

They turned to rush towards Izuku and saw that his energy blasts were just a couple feet from Yuno, and she looked very tired from having to throw so many fireballs for as long as she has. "AAAAAHHHHHHH!" Screamed Izuku. All of a sudden he sent more energy blasts than he already was. Effectively overtaking Yuno. Causing some blasts to hit her. 74.

Yuno was sent flying. Back from the attack, landing on the ground hard. Several holes in her clothing, bruising already showing on her body, and looking like her jaw might be broken. Mei and Komori stared at the sight of Yuno in astonishment. They were amazed that not only did Izuku's quirk hit hard enough to leave that much damage, the attacks had to be hot to essentially disintegrate her clothing. They had no doubt she would have had some nasty burns along with her bruises if not for the natural heat resistance/immunity that pretty much every with a fire quirk has.

Both looked towards Izuku just in time to see him fall to his knees. "Izuku!" They both yelled as they rushed to his side.

Mei felt ready to cry as she had flashbacks to the assault that they met at. More specifically, when Izuku fell. How she rushed to him and found his heart had stopped. She feared that might have happened again. Thankfully when she got to him, not only was he still on his knees, he was still conscious.

Izuku smiled as he saw Mei and Komori running up to him. "Thank god you two are safe." He said before Mei near tackled him into a hug, while Komori stopped right next to him.

"I was so worried Izuku! I thought... I thought you were going to... going to..." she said before she started sobbing.

Izuku embraced Mei back. "I'm just glad you guys are ok." He said.

Mei pulled away, tears streaming down her face with an angry expression. "You idiot, you were in danger too! You're even bleeding! You need to worry about yourself as well!" Yelled Mei. 78.

Izuku winced at the volume. "Ok, ok." He said trying to placate her. "It's just, I don't know what I would do if you got hurt." Said Izuku sadly.

"You... you..." said Mei, still trying to be mad at him for not worrying about himself, but the anger quickly faded at his comment. She wrapped him in another hug. "Just please make sure you protect yourself as well." She said quietly.

Izuku embraces back. "I promise." He replied. 85.

Komori watched on with a smile, not wanting to interrupt their moment. But as soon as they separated, she couldn't contain her enthusiasm anymore. "That was amazing! You call that kind of quirk 'nothing special'?!" She proclaimed.

Izuku and Mei looked at each other, Izuku with worry, and Mei with encouragement. Izuku sighed sadly. "There's more to my quirk than that." He said sadly.

Komori picked up on his sad tone. "Is there some sort of drawback?" She asked.

"Kind of." He said simply. He then proceeded to tell Komori everything he knew about his quirk, as Mei helped him back into his wheelchair. That included the feeling of moving energy when he used it, and it was feeling like time was slower. He even explained that people see him as a villain because of it, and what it can do.

Komori listened intently, her face not betraying her emotions. During his explanation, Izuku was thinking she was going to call him a villain as well because of her neutral expression. "So you use female pheromones to power a majority of your quirk? Including those glowing red eyes?"

Izuku passed over the discovery of his eyes, and he simply nodded his head solemnly, just waiting for Komori to lash out or ditch them.

"Well that sucks that your quirk uses such a difficult to obtain recourse. Sounds like you need to find a way to defeat enemies without using too much just in case." She said with a smile.

Izuku's head snapped to look at Komori. In a months time, he has met dozens of people who accept him for who he is. That included U.A. staff who he had slowly started meeting over the last two weeks. Yet he can't stop his surprise every time it happens.

Mei smiles seeing Komori accept Izuku, but there was one question lingering in her head. "Where did you get the pheromones anyway? I doubt you can just buy them." She joked.

Izuku scratched the back of his head. "I have a theory." Said Izuku and he turned to look at Mei. "Usually when you touch me a number in my head would rise. I think that's a measure of how much I have because it went down during the fight." He said.

Mei had an obvious blush on her face. "So the pheromones you had were from me?" Asked Mei. Izuku nodded his head, and Mei grew a huge smile, she was ecstatic that she was able to help protect him in some way. Even indirectly. She quickly sat on Izuku's lap wrapping her arms behind his head.

Izuku exploded in a deep dark full face blush. "Wh-wh-what are y-you d-doing?!" He stuttered.

Mei leaned in close, continuing to smile at him. "Helping you recharge. You're going to need to practice your quirk, and this is the only way you can." She said alluringly. She was going to take full advantage of this information.

But before she could do anything else they heard Komori clear her through. Looking at her she was also blushing, and despite currently being unable to see her eyes, they knew she was averting her gaze.

Izuku was still stunned by Mei's actions, and could only stare at the two. Mei reluctantly got off, but this wasn't going to be anywhere near the last time she did this. But maybe in a bit more private of a setting next time... Maybe.

"So what should we do with them?" Asked Komori, gesturing to their unconscious attackers.

Izuku getting out of his daze sighed, rubbing the back of his head. "They're going to freak out that this happened, and probably forbid me from going anywhere without a chaperone ever again." He said as he touched the blood that was starting to dry on his face and looked at his now bloody fingers. "But I'll contact my mom and Naomi."


	10. Chapter 9 Quirk Discovery

**A/N I feel so bad that it took three weeks to write this. But I'll try and have the next one done within a couple weeks.**

*Sunday, near three weeks later.*

"A-are you s-s-sure you're not u-uncomfortable?" Asked Izuku nervously?

"Yup, I am very comfy. Are you uncomfortable?" Asked Mei with a relaxed smile.

"I-I-I'm fine." Squeaked out Izuku.

Mei's smile just grew larger as they continued what they were doing. She and Izuku were in his living room playing a fighting game based on the number one heroes throughout the world, which gave them a pretty big roster. Mei's favorite was Korea's number one hero Techie, who's quirk was Technomancy, which allowed him to mentally disassemble and reassemble machines as long as he had the know how and the parts. Izuku didn't particularly have a favorite, though he felt it might be due to his bias opinion of heroes. But he wished his mom or aunts were on the roster. He was looking forward to the next Japanese Heroes league game since he heard his Aunts would be in them, his mom wouldn't be since she's an underground hero. Normally this would be no big deal, but the position they're in has him on edge.

When they sat down, Mei immediately started to reposition Izuku a bit, so she could lie on him, and then she wrapped his arms around her. Otherwise, known as cuddling, something Izuku didn't expect, and had him quite nervous.

Ever since they got jumped by Yuno about three weeks ago she had slowly gotten more handsy with him. Despite her Initial reaction, she had taken it slow. It started with her holding his hand from time to time, to her sitting directly next to him, to now with her cuddling with him while she wears a tank top. Seeing her in the top nearly made his heart stop. He's seen her in a tank top before when he went to her house and helped her work on her babies. But he swears this one is showing off a bit more cleavage. Nah, it must be his imagination. Or his quirk messing with his hormones.

He really likes spending time with Mei and Komori, but he's caught himself checking them out more and more, and he hates himself for it. They are good friends, and he's disrespecting them by looking at them that way. And Mei helping him by giving him pheromones was not helping any.

It wasn't like she forced him to do any of this stuff, and despite getting nervous about it all the time, he enjoyed it immensely. She may be getting bolder and bolder with it, she has always made sure he knew he could say no at any time. Something he truly appreciated. It was even proven when she had him rest his head on her lap the other day. She started caressing and stroking his cheek. An act that actually helped him relax, and was making him start to fall asleep.

That in itself wasn't the bad part. It was when her hand went lower and her fingers lightly grazed his neck and over his throat. Izuku panicked and fell to the ground, panicking, in a cold sweat, and hyperventilating. Mei apologizes profusely after she and his mom calmed him down. Which of course Izuku told her it wasn't her fault, and that it was his, that he shouldn't have freaked out like he did. Mei knew his freak out wasn't over nothing, which was cemented by his moms solemn look. Despite her telling him he could talk to her, she didn't get any answers. He also didn't tell her about the nightmares he had later that night that included that same situation, only with a different outcome.

After that he didn't want to rest his head on her lap, and he told her as much. She didn't push it and accepted his decision.

"So what time is Komori showing up?" Asked Mei.

"Sh-she sh-should be h-here in a-a-a few m-minutes." He stuttered. She was on her way there to train with Izuku and Mei.

After what happened with Yuno, Izuku's mom insisted on training him as soon as possible. Well, after they managed to calm her down. It was an interesting sight watching her switch back and forth from wanting to throttle Yuno and her friends, to fussing over him. She decided that she would start training him, an offer that was extended to Mei, and Komori as well after she was introduced as their new friend. Both their parents were thrilled by the offer. Given the fact that this was the second degree time Mei had gotten assaulted in two months month, and Ms. Komori thought that not only would this help her with her dreams, but her personally to get more confident and spend time with her new friends. Though Komori didn't tell them her dad said it would just be a waste of time and that she should focus on her studies to get a realistic job. Thankfully after her parents divorce her mom had Komori the most.

Before long, they heard a knock on the door. "That must be her." Said Izuku as he reached for his cane as Mei sat up. He stood up without much hassle. Izuku has been doing a lot better, and was growing his muscles back. He was healing fast with the combined efforts of those at U.A. like lunch rush helping give his mom proper diet plans while he was healing (she had actually offered to cook for them, but Shoka wanted to do it to feel more like a parent. Plus her eating with him made the staff happy knowing she was starting to eat proper meals.), and Recovery Girl with the physical therapy. Along with all the encouragement from not just his mother and aunts, but from other U.A. staff. But it doesn't stop there. Mei being the inventor genius she is built a suit for him to wear under his clothes during his workouts. He didn't really understand the science behind it, but essentially it helps maximize any and all workouts and helps with recovery along the way. Turns out it was the baby Mei wanted to show him the day Yuno jumped them.

As he passed by the serving hatch, he heard his mother's voice. "Let me know when you guys are ready to go." She said with a smile. She was in the kitchen having some coffee with his aunts, while the three talked.

Izuku smiles to her and his aunts. "Ok, and thank you again." He said appreciatively.

"Oh we're happy to help. Just try not to overexert yourself before we go." Said Midnight teasingly and giving a wink, earning her a deep blush from Izuku, and a smack on the arm from Shoka. She had started teasing him and Mei after Mei started getting more intimate. It was embarrassing, but he knew it held no malice.

"I-it's not like th-that." Stuttered Izuku before heading for the door. Just like he guessed, it was indeed Komori. "Hey Komori. Glad you could make it." He said with a smile.

One that Komori returned. "A chance to hang with you and Mei, and get training from pro heroes? No way I'd miss that."

Izuku gestured her in. "Well they said we can start when we want, what do you want to do?" He asked.

"I'm fine with starting whenever. But do you have enough pheromones?" She asked.

The question made Izuku blush again. But before he could answer he heard Mei speak as she walked up. "If he doesn't I'm more than happy to keep cuddling." She said alluringly.

Izuku's blush darkened, making the two girls giggle, he even heard some giggling coming from the kitchen. He knew that they heard what Mei Said.

"I-I'm fine. I'm a-at 1,947." He stuttered. It's funny he thought, it took about a month to get to 443 last time, but it less than three weeks to get more than quadruple that, even after taking into account he started at 78.

But looking at the two they looked a little worried. "Are you sure that will be enough to train with? You said you used over 350 during the fight alone. And training can be much harder." Asked Komori.

Shoka walked out of the kitchen towards them. "That's why after he's in good enough condition I'll be training him in martial arts. That way he won't have to rely on his quirk, and it will just be a tool in his arsenal. A powerful one at that." She said as she gave him a side hug. "And Power loader is already coming up with ideas for support gear for him. Something I'm sure Mei is also doing."

Mei gave her manic inventor smile. "I'm almost done with my latest baby! You're going to love it!" She said excited.

Komori Bowed to Shoka. "Thank you for having me Ms. Aizawa, and thank you for training me."

"It's no problem. The more proper heroes the better." She said. After meeting Komori and being happy that Izuku and Mei already made another friend, she learned that Komori wanted to be an idol hero. At first, she wasn't impressed, she didn't like hero's who only care about fame and all. That was until she heard Komori's resolve. She wants to be an idol sure, but she said she wants to protect people even more, and making them smile. Shoka usually dismisses these claims since they're lies a majority of the time, but looking at Komori you could tell it was the truth. Shoka's smile turned into her creepy sadistic one. "Just don't expect it to be easy."

Izuku, Mei, and Komori all gulped and nodded their heads. "Yes ma'am!" They yelled together.

*1 hour later at training ground gamma.*

The three teens were hard at work under the guidance and instruction of Shoka, Mic, and Midnight. They have been working their butts off. Mei and Komori were currently doing some martial arts training. Turned out Komori has done some self training in that regard. She was already good enough to be the equivalent of a brown belt (just 2 below black) she would be a black if it wasn't for the fact that without instructions from a teacher, she picked up some bad habits and techniques. So she needs to unlearn and relearn them, which is much harder. But she has skill.

Mei, on the other hand, obviously never learned to even throw a punch. For as smart as she was, her technique was sloppy. But that brain of hers will definitely help her learn fast. The scary part is though. She. Hits. HARD. Years of her mechanical work has given her a lot of strength. Which was a complete surprise, given how small her arms are. Her punches will definitely do a lot of damage when she betters her technique. The two of them are currently hitting some punching bags that were brought over and hung with the help of some U.A. staff before they even showed up.

Izuku out of the three was actually having the most difficulty. Up until now he has used his quirk on pure instinct, but now that he is actively trying to use it, it's not wanting to work for him. At first, it was drawing on the power. He remembered it feeling like it came from his chest, but it was refusing to flow.

After about 20 minutes he was finally able to get some to flow, but had no control of it. The first incident was he couldn't put a halt to it, or even stem the tide, as it flowed faster than ever and caused a beam to shoot from his hand with abandon, he was able to keep it aimed towards the targets on the thick stone wall they asked Cementoss erect before they showed up. His mom thankfully used her quirk to stop it. The spot he held the beam at had a diameter of 3 in, and was 20 inches (50.8 cm) deep in the stone wall, thankfully Cementoss made it thick. The downside is how much of his stockpile it used. He was only using it for about 2 seconds before his mom used her quirk, and he was left with 866. It was a powerful attack, that's for sure, but was a huge drain, and considering how much he's able to get from Mei, he doubted he'd be able to use it.

On his second attempt, as he tried to hold the energy this time, it exploded in his palm, burning it. While the wound wasn't visible, he could still feel it. Despite only wanting to add 1 point(?) (He decided he needs to find a good name for it.) but instead he added 10, making the blast all that much more painful. He tried to act like he was ok, he's used to feeling a lot of pain after all, but once again he's not as good of an actor as he thought as everyone quickly called him on it. He did get a scolding from everyone about not taking unnecessary risks and taking care of himself. Thankfully he had the stamina for recovery girl to heal his hand, though she scolded him too when she heard about him trying to hide it.

After the healing, he once again had trouble getting the energy to flow, and once again after he got it going he had trouble controlling it. Only this time the ball of energy just kept growing and growing in his hand. It was the size of an extra large beach ball. When his mom canceled his quirk, causing the orb to dissipate. It only took so long because she was worried about what might happen to the energy when she stopped it, thinking it might explode like the last time. Considering she remembers how much a football sized attack hurt, she didn't even want to think about the kind of damage an attack like that would do. Everyone was relieved when that didn't hurt Izuku. With that he was down to 798.

As time went on Izuku was getting more and more frustrated and dejected. He had so much more control over it against Yuno, now he can't control it at all, and was wasting so much of the pheromones that Mei helped give him. Everyone kept trying to console him, telling him it's not his fault for not having any experience with the quirk. Only they could tell he kept getting more upset with himself the longer he kept being unable to control it.

His Mom and aunts tried desperately to help him, but they weren't used to teaching basic quirk control. By the time their students joined U.A. they have at least some semblance of control, at the very least they know how to use it, and are just fine-tuning its use. It also didn't help that they're only on their fifth year of teaching, they were only 31 after all. The biggest hurdle though is that resource reliant quirks have been known to be more difficult to control. For whatever reason, they didn't know, something they're determined to rectify for not just Izuku's sake, but for all their future students. So with Izuku's acceptance they decided to ask someone for help. Izuku expected them to ask another teacher or Nezu. But was surprised when someone else entirely showed up.

"Hiiiiii senseeeeeiiii's!" Yelled a girl with long light blue hair wearing the U.A. training uniform, as she burst through the doors.

Shoka could already feel the headache coming on. "Hello Nejire. Thank you for coming." She said. Shoka is her current hero teacher for her first year, and let's just say aspirin became a necessity. Nejire wasn't her best student at first, and Shoka truly does her best to help her, but her hyperactive behavior and lack of focus makes it difficult. While she wasn't the bottom of her class, she definitely wasn't the top.

Then she went to her work study with Ryukyu. Shoka still has no idea what she did to help Nejire, but she quickly started getting better and better with not just her quirk, but in class in general. She's still not the top of her class, but if she keeps up this momentum, she'll be one of the best in no time.

"You asked me to help someone? Who is it? What's their quirk? How good are they? Is it like mine? Is it true you adopted a kid? Oh, is that who I'm here to help!?" She asked in rapid succession, and kept rambling more and more questions.

Midnight and Mic were chuckling at Shoka right now. Shoka put her hands on Nejire's shoulders to try to silence her. "Yes, I asked you to help. Now I need you to not go spreading this around. Can you keep what happens here secret?" She asked sternly.

Nejire looked confused. "Uh, sure. But why?"

She asked, surprising Shoka by the lack of questions.

"It's for my son's sake." She answered, getting a bright smile and gasp from Nejire. "Look I seriously want to keep it a secret from the students please. He's gone through some things that make it hard for him to be around too many people and I don't want the students bothering him until he's ready." She said with such sincerity it silenced Nejire.

Nejire's face went blank with a bit of thoughtfulness. She understood this was no simple matter. So she simply nodded her head.

"Good." Shoka's face softened, something Nejire rarely saw. Heck she doubted most students have ever seen it. "My son Izuku can't control his quirk. For reason's I'm not going to divulge, he doesn't have experience with it. I will tell you that it's a quirk that converts a resource into energy like yours does. Do you think you can help him?" She asked kindly.

Nejire looked serious, more serious than Shoka has ever seen her. "I'll do what I can. Where is he?" She asked. Shoka gestured to a bench near the wall where Izuku was resting with his face in his hands and elbows resting in his knees. Nejire started walking towards Izuku. As she got closer, she could make out his features better. Her heart sank when she saw the part of his arms and legs stuck out from his tank top and shorts. 'There's no way his condition is normal.' She thought sadly, as she also noticed the cane next to him.

Millions of question zoomed through her mind that she want to ask Izuku. But a lesson she learned from Ryukyu overrode it. 'When Someone is suffering, keep the questions to necessity only. Anything else can make their suffering worse.' Came the voice of Ryukyu in her head. Nejire learned that one the hard way after she was helping get info from a man whose family was kidnapped.

She stopped a few feet in front of Izuku, and gave a kind sympathetic smile. "So I'm told you need help." She said gently.

When she spoke Izuku jumped slightly and jolted his head up to look at her. Nejire's heart shattered as she saw the still slightly sunken in cheek's that was a sign of starvation, and the look in his eyes. They showed unfathomable pain. "U-um y-yeah. Are y-you th-the person m-my m-m-mom called?" He stuttered out, clearly nervous about her presence.

"Yup, that'd be me! My name is Hado Nejire, but just call me Nejire." She greeted enthusiastically, sticking her hand out to shake Izuku's, making sure not to get to close and letting Izuku close the distance at his own pace.

Izuku looked at the hand and back at Nejire before slowly extended his hand to shake hers. The handshake was gentle, and it somewhat calmed down Izuku. "A-Aizawa I-I-Izuku." He said.

Nejire gave him a bright smile. "So to help I'm going to need to know about your quirk!" She said excitedly. She quickly picked up on Izuku's rise of discomfort, and calmed down. "Don't worry. You don't need to tell me everything if it makes you uncomfortable, just tell me how your quirk works and I'll see what I can do." She said.

Izuku was reluctant, looking down and gripped the hem of his shorts tightly. He didn't want to tell this girl that he literally just met his quirk. Looking up to his family and friends, seeing that Mei and Komori were training under the supervision of aunt Midnight, while his mom and Aunt Mic were looking towards him with smiles. They were most likely keeping an eye on him just in case.

Izuku took a deep breath. He knows this is a fear he needs to face. If they called him a villain, then at least he still has people who care about him in his life... Hopefully.

Nejire waited patiently, as she watched Izuku seemingly struggle with himself. She knew his quirk must be a touchy subject. But her patience was rewarded when Izuku started explaining his quirk, during which she never lost her smile, and never interrupted him. To say she was Intrigued was an understatement. Not only were their quirks similar, but his resource was female pheromones? She had so many questions. "Why do you only get pheromones from that Mei girl? Do male pheromones not work? Is there more you can do with it? What was it like when you got your quirk?..." she started questioning.

She didn't see his discomfort at first until her last question, only this time she was once again given a lesson of Ryukyu's advice. When that last question poured out of her mouth, Izuku looked outright depressed. Nejire was mentally cursing herself. "I'm sorry. I know this isn't the time for my curiosity. And I know I ask way to many questions." She apologized.

"I-it's ok. I kn-know what it's like t-to be c-curious." He replied solemnly.

Nejire could still see Izuku's depression despite his reassurance. She scooted closer and grabbed hold of Izuku's hand, startling him a bit. "I know you don't know me, but if you want to talk, I'm happy to listen. And if you need to cry, I have two open shoulders." She said giving a caring smile.

Izuku looked at her astounded. "W-why w-would you want t-to listen t-to m-my problems?" Asked Izuku.

"Because something is obviously bothering you. What other reason would I need?" She said kindly.

He thought about her answer for a few seconds with a smile on his face. She had such a pure reason to want to help. He couldn't help but wonder why it took so many years to find the people now in his life. "Thank you, but maybe some other time." He said appreciatively.

Nejire nodded her head in response. "Ok. So do you want to get started on quirk training?" She asked.

Izuku grabbed his cane and started standing up, to which Nejire shot up and helped him out.

The two walked back to where Izuku was training. "So let me see what you've been trying." Said Nejire.

Izuku nodded and tried to shoot an energy blast at one of the targets again but the energy wasn't flowing again. Izuku was already feeling his frustration grow. While he was doing that Nejire watched him intently, walking around him and observing him at every angle.

Izuku's frustration kept rising as he was still unable to use his quirk properly. He was mentally cursing himself when Nejire spoke. "You know, you told me what other people think of your quirk, but what do you think of it?" She asked simply with a blank expression.

The question caught Izuku off guard, he looked at Nejire questioningly not knowing the others overheard the question and quieted down to listen in. "Wh-why do you a-ask? What d-does th-that have t-to do with th-this?" He asked trying to dodge the question.

"Everything. So what do you think of your quirk?" She asked again.

By this time Izuku noticed the others looking his way, seemingly waiting to hear his answer. Izuku looked away, and at his hand. "It's weird, and difficult." She said shortly.

Everyone sans Nejire looked at him worried, while Nejire's expression didn't change. "Izuku?" Whispered Mei.

"And what else?" She asked.

"That's it." He said irritated.

"I know that's not true. What else?" Asked Nejire.

"That's it!" Yelled Izuku, his emotions getting the best of him.

"What? Else?" Asked Nejire.

Izuku gritted his teeth before quickly facing Nejire, looking angry. "I hate it, ok!?" He yelled, surprising the others with his anger. "This quirk has caused me so much suffering! Everyone calls me a villain because of it! I spent years getting hurt because of it! Even my own mother abandoned me because she didn't want to raise a villain!" He screamed angrily, breathing heavy.

Mei and Komori gasped and tears started forming in their eyes at what they just heard. Shoka, Mic, and Midnight all were surprised and upset, they knew about the abandonment, they just didn't know why. While Nejire kept her neutral expression, but inside her heart was hurting. She only kept the expression in case he had more he wanted to say, which he did.

"And I don't blame her!" He yelled but quieter, his face falling into a dejected look and tears started pouring from his eyes. "Not with how my quirk manifested. My quirk could so easily be used for evil." He said holding back his sobs, it didn't take him long to realized that he just yelled at Nejire. Panic started to rise in him as raised his hands to protect himself from the beating he knew would happen, resisting the urge to run knowing it would only make it worse. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to..." he started before being startled by Nejire wrapping him in a hug.

"It's ok. That had to have been weighing heavily on you." She whispered soothingly in his ear, letting the tears fall from her eyes.

Izuku was too stunned to move, he didn't expect this reaction. His fear was eventually overridden by the sorrow he had kept hidden and buried. Tears started to fall from his eyes faster, and he hugged Nejire right back before he started crying in her shoulder. It didn't take long before he felt several pairs of arms wrap around him as well. Looking up to see everyone hugging him, and they seemed to be crying as well. "I'm sorry, for yelling, and unloading that on you guys. I didn't want to burden you further with my problems." He said.

"You dummy." Said Mei, as she cried into his back and squeezed him tighter. How she managed to get her arms between him and Nejire, he had no clue. "How many times do we have to tell you we want to help? That includes listening to your problems."

"We're here for you. You don't have to keep the pain inside." Said Shoka gently.

"I may not have known you for very long, but I truly care for you. I'm not going to abandon you." Said Komori, wanting to take away Izuku's pain. She couldn't help but find it strange that in the short amount of time she's know Izuku and Mei, she feels closer to them than she has ever been with her old friends. But now wasn't the time to think about that.

"You don't have to stay silent little listener, you can talk to us any time." Said Present Mic lovingly.

"We're not going to force you to talk if you don't want to, but never feel like you need to apologize when you do." Said Midnight in a caring tone.

Izuku didn't know what to say as tears poured from his eyes. The amount of love and support he was receiving was almost overwhelming. He could barely squeeze out a quiet "Thank you." as he relished the kind moment he had only dreamed of growing up.

After a bit, Nejire gently prompted the others to release Izuku. She continued to give Izuku a kind caring smile. "I know it might not be easy, but to help you with your quirk, there are a few things I need to know. Is that ok?" Asked Nejire.

Despite his mind telling him not to trust Nejire still, he decided too anyways. After all, it tells him not to trust anyone. "Yeah." He said a little reluctantly.

"Would you like us to listen too?" Asked Shoka, hoping she could do something to help.

Thinking about it, he didn't know what Nejire would ask him, and was nervous about what she'd ask. So having people who have shown time after time that they cared and had his back would be a great comfort. And if this is going where he thinks it is, maybe it was fine to tell them a bit about his past. "Yes please." He said quietly.

The others smiled and nodded at him while Nejire gestured back to the bench they sat on earlier. They all followed him as he went to sit down, with his mom sitting on his left, and Mei on his right. They both grabbed hold of one of his hands to help comfort him. Something that did help, he gave the two of them an appreciative smile. He turned to Nejire. The amount of pain and emotional fatigue in his eyes was staggering. But past that, you can see strength, the strength to stand after the world itself beat him down. "What do you need to know?"

Nejire, still giving him a caring and supportive smile said. "Let's start at the beginning. When did you start hating your quirk and why?"

Izuku sat there with a sad but thoughtful look as he dredged up memories he dreaded reliving. "I think I started to hate it when I was about six or seven, but the reason why starts from when it manifested." Izuku took a deep breath, he was nervous for what he was about to tell them, afraid of what they might think of him. He started to rethink telling them, until he felt his mom and Mei both give his hands a comforting squeeze, giving him the courage he needs. "I was a late bloomer, I didn't get my quirk until I was about four and a half. It wasn't too late, but it did make me the last in my class to get one. Originally I was actually diagnosed as quirkless, I have the extra pinky toe joint and everything." He started. Looking around to see the wide eyes off Mei, Komori, and Nejire. But his mom and aunts didn't look surprised. He should have figured they'd know about that, considering it would probably be in his medical records.

"Really? I though that test was 100% accurate." Said Komori.

Midnight scoffed. "That piece of information came from when quirks first started showing up. Back then they were more concerned about what was causing their appearance and what they can do, than finding out how accurate the test is. Professionals still are for that matter. Not every kid gets tested, only late bloomers and the quirkless, so the statistics are bias. While it is accurate, it's not unbelievable that it isn't 100%."

Everyone mulled over what Midnight said, coming to the conclusion that she made a good point. But soon the reality of what Izuku said started to sink in. How quirkless are viewed and treated is common knowledge after all.

"Did other people know?" Asked Mei.

Izuku just silently nodded his head, adding to the heartache they were all feeling.

"Then shouldn't you have been ecstatic to have a quirk?" Asked Mei.

"For a bit I was, despite how it manifested, but with how people treated me because of it, than I would have just rather stayed quirk was." He said solemnly.

"How did it manifest?" Asked Nejire.

"After a... bad day at school." He started, everyone picked up he was downplaying what probably happened. "My mom Inko took me to the park to try to cheer me up. For the most part it worked. She took me to a park a bit further away to try to help me make some friends. Since nobody there knew I was quirkless, nobody treated me any different, so for the first time in weeks, I had people to play with. Well after a little while a group of moms came to tell their kids it was time to go home, that's when it happened. My gaze of lust activated. Even though it requires them to look me in the eyes as well, it makes my eyes glow, which I'm guessing attracted their attention."

Everyone grimaced, it didn't take a genius to see where this was going. It seems that no one thought about what Izuku's quirk manifestation could have been like. Or at least refused to think about it.

"There were four of them, and at first it confused me on what they wanted. They started by touching me and even started kissing me all over. I didn't mind at first, just thought they were being friendly. Then they started touching elsewhere. That's when I started getting scared. I tried to push them off of me, and the rest of my quirk started to activate. The energy blasts came rushing out of my hands, hitting the ladies. I couldn't stop the blasts from coming. Eventually they did stop, but before I knew it I felt something hit me on the back of my neck and knocked me out. I later found out that when the women started touching me, my mom called for a hero. And Endeavor showed up."

Hearing that everyone had the same thought. 'Oh shit.' Endeavor had a reputation of being both brutal and uncaring. None of them doubted that he would attack a child.

"Apparently while I was out was when everything went worse. In Endeavors view I attacked random citizens. At first my mom was trying to tell him that I was just defending myself, but the women had gotten up and told endeavor that I was controlling them with my quirk. And everything just spiraled from there." More tears started to fall from Izuku's eyes as he took some shuddery breaths. Mei let go of his hand and wrapped him in a hug. "By the end of it, everyone believed that I was the one at fault. That I was old enough to have a handle on my quirk."

Everyone's hearts were going out to him, it was obvious he was a victim of circumstance and horrible judgmental people. They all figured that one or all of those women wanted to make sure none of the blame landed on them, so they made Izuku seem worse than he is.

"But your mom should have known you didn't have a quirk. Didn't she say anything?"

"I don't know. If she did, someone must have convinced her I was lying about not having a quirk. She became distant from me, almost afraid I might do the same to her, she even pulled me out of school, so I wouldn't do anything to my classmates. After a few days, my mom took me to the quirk doctor again. I was uncomfortable using my quirk again, but was convinced otherwise. They got a nurse to volunteer and that's where we discovered that I used pheromones. The problem was I didn't know how to turn off my quirk, so several people got effected. I'm guessing they were prepared for something like that, and they stuck a needle in my arm, and I was out like a light. Things between me and my mother became even more strained after that. She wouldn't even want me in the same room as her, to the point that if I entered a room she was in she'd yell at me and treat me with disdain. Eventually I overheard a phone call she was making. I don't know who she was talking to, but she told the person she couldn't do it anymore. That my quirk is evil, and she couldn't continue to raise a future villain." Everyone was feeling a mixture of sorrow for what happened to Izuku, and anger at Inko for treating him the way she did. "I vowed that day I would prove to my mom that I wanted to be a hero and help people. But I never got the chance. The next day she told me to pack up a few things, that I was going to go stay with someone. I thought it would be for a few days, hoping our relationship would be better afterwards. But she dropped me off at my first foster home. And never came back." He finished. Tears poured from his eyes like natural falls. The pain and hurt in his voice not once leaving during his story.

"You talked about your mom, But what about your dad? Did he not do anything during all this?" Asked Komori. This was easily the saddest story she's ever heard, her heart feeling like it broke several times, but she needed to hear more for Izuku's sake. He needed to get it off his chest. She almost regretted her question when Izuku's eyes showed greater sadness.

"He abandoned me and my mom when I was diagnosed as quirkless." He said, earning some gasps from Komori and Mei, while the others just looked pissed. "My mom stuck up for me when my dad brought up just putting me in a foster home after that. She was a kind and loving mom, but I guess she figured he had the right idea."

For the first time in a long time, Nejire didn't want to ask any questions. She was horrified by Izuku's story, angry and what happened to him, understanding why he hates his quirk, and dreading the feeling she's barely scratched the surface of Izuku's suffering. But she was here to help him, and that's what she is going to do. "Is there more you want to tell us?" Asked Nejire. Only Izuku stayed silent. It told everyone that he didn't want to tell more, at least for now. Nejire kneeled in front of Izuku, and knelt down and enveloped Izuku in another hug, everyone else giving them the moment, except Mei, who hasn't let go of Izuku. After Nejire let go, she kept her hands on his shoulders and looked him directly in the eyes with a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry you had to go through something so horrible."

Izuku tried to give her a smile, but couldn't. "It's not your fault. But what did this have to do with getting better with my quirk?" Asked Izuku, who was honestly just wanting to change the subject. He did feel better getting that off his chest, but it was still extremely painful. And seeing the others reactions to his question, everyone but Nejire seemed to have forgotten the reason this was brought up. Which told Izuku they were more focused on his well-being, a fact that made him feel warm inside.

Nejire gave Izuku a wide smile. "Everything!" She said ecstatically, trying to cheer up Izuku. "But first, has there ever been a time when you had your quirk under control?"

Before he could answer, Mei spoke up. "Yup! When we got jumped, he fought against a girl with a fireball quirk! He was amazing!" She said excitedly. She noticed what Nejire was doing, and was trying to help.

Izuku blushed. "It wasn't anything special." He said sheepishly.

"Izuku, how many times do we have to tell you? It was awesome. Dozens of fireballs and energy blast colliding midair, before Izuku overtook her." Said Komori happily, the mood steadily lifting.

Nejire looked at Izuku eagerly. "Really!? How fast were you sending them? How much damage do they do? How do they...?" She started before catching herself and clearing her throat. "I can ask later." She said to herself quietly, before giving Izuku a serious look. "How did you feel during that fight? What was different about it from now?" Asked Nejire.

"How I felt?" He whispered to himself, looking down thoughtfully as he recalled that day. "I... I was scared. Angry. No. Livid. But not for myself. I was afraid of Mei and Komori getting hurt. Pissed about what she was saying about them. I wanted, no, needed to protect them." He said resolutely. He didn't notice they both started blushing. His mom and aunts were both proud and scared about it. Proud he fought to protect others, but scared that he wasn't worried about protecting himself.

Nejire gave Izuku a wide smile. "Very noble of you." She said, making Izuku blush. "So would you say you hated your quirk at that moment?"

Izuku once more thought back to that moment. "No. I needed my quirk, wanted it to work. Why does that...?" Izuku's eyes went wide in realization, making Nejire smile wider. "You're telling me that hating my quirk is making it not work?" Asked Izuku.

Nejire nodded her head. "Yup. But not exactly 'not work' more like unstable."

Her answer made everyone give her questioning looks. "I've heard of someone's emotions making it harder for people to use their quirk, but never about it making it unstable." Said Shoka incredulously.

"Well it's because his uses a resource." She answered like it's the most obvious thing in the world. When everyone still looked at her questioningly, she let out a sigh. "Quirks that don't require a resource are ever present in the body, something you just release, turn on, or whatever. The body is adapted to the power being present. But with a resource it's completely different. Our bodies are used to containing the resource, not the power itself. Strong negative emotions against your quirk makes it harder for the body to convert or hold it properly."

"How come we've never heard of this?" Asked Present Mic.

Nejire looked thoughtful. "Maybe because it was only discovered about two to three years ago? Or maybe because your way too used to teaching those that can already control their quirk?" She answered as she gave a shrug.

'She... has a point.' Thought the three simultaneously. Seems they have a lot more to learn themselves. They should have known better. Known that to better teach the more advanced stuff, they should know all the basics too.

Izuku started clenching his hands into fists. "But I've already tried emulating the feelings I held during that fight. It didn't work." He said, frustration clear in his voice, prompting Mei to squeeze him tighter, hoping to calm him down.

"It's because the situation made you forget your hate. Your desire overrode it. But you've held onto that hate for so long it's second nature to you now. I know it's not easy, but you're going to have to let go of your hate." Replied Nejire, tenderly.

Izuku's face quickly fell, as he looked down solemnly. "How? How can I stop hating something that ruined my life?" Asked Izuku to no one on particular.

Everyone remained silent at that. They couldn't give him an answer to that. Well, except for one. "By fighting it with something stronger than your hate." Answered Nejire.

Izuku slowly raised his head to look at her. "What do you mean?" Asked Izuku.

"I mean fight your hate with something more important to you. You say you already tried emulating your feelings from that day and it didn't work, but that doesn't mean you were on the wrong track. You have to do more than emulate it! You have to feel it! To let it completely flow through you! And not give your hate any room in your heart or mind! Smother it until it's completely banished!" She said encouragingly, as she became more and more bubbly as she spoke, before she calmed down and gave Izuku and encouraging sympathetic look. "It's not easy, and it won't change your mindset overnight. But if you truly want to get better with your quirk, that is the best advice I can give you."

Izuku sat there silently as he mulled over what she told him. 'Smother it until it's completely banished.' He thought. He looked to Mei, Komori, his mom, aunt Mic, and aunt Midnight. 'If I truly want to get better with my quirk.' Determination started welling up inside him, and it must have shown on his face because everyone was smiling at him. He nodded his head. "I'll do it. I need to get better if I want to be a hero." He said resolute. Everyone nodded back at him with proud and supportive looks.

Mei released Izuku as he reached for his cane, he was brought back up to 813. They all watched as he stood in front of the targets again and closed his eyes. He dug back down to the feelings he had that day. His desire to protect Mei and Komori. The desire to save them, to keep them safe. But more than that he started thinking about his mom, his aunts, Tsukauchi, Recovery Girl, Nezu, Mr. and Mrs. Hatsume, Hound Dog, the entirety of the U.A. staff, and even Nejire. All who have been there for him, who have helped him so much, who have cared about and supported them. He thought about how much he cares about each and every one of them. About how he wants to continue this life with them. About how he wants to be there to protect them, as they have protected him.

He started to feel the energy in his chest again, but unlike earlier, it felt more controlled. Opening his eyes, he aimed his arm at one of the targets, let the energy flow to his hand, and released a ball of energy. 812.

He missed.

But he didn't care. Well, not much. But he was happy that he was able to use his quirk properly. He stood there smiling at the burn mark on the wall about 3 feet (0.91 m) away from his target. Before he had a chance to turn to the others, not one, but two people slammed into him giving him a hug. Thankfully they didn't fall over. He looked down and saw Mei and Nejire hugging him.

"I knew you could do it!" Yelled Mei ecstatic.

"That was amazing!" Yelled Nejire, just as excited.

Izuku started blushing up a storm. "But I missed." He said embarrassed, but couldn't help but smile.

"So? It was your first proper shot? You'll get better in no time." Praised Shoka, as the others walked up, all of them smiling. "Nejire. Thank you for the help. You definitely earned the extra credit."

Nejire let go of Izuku and looked at Shoka confused. "I was getting extra credit for this?" She asked sincerely.

Shoka, Present Mic, and Midnight all looked stunned for a couple seconds before they started chuckling. "Don't ever change Nejire." Said Present Mic. "You're good to go if you want."

Nejire gave a wide smile. "Nah, I want to see more of what Izuku can do. He's really interesting."

Shoka looked toward Izuku, who was back to staring at the burn mark with a smile. "More than you know."

It was then that Komori walked up to Izuku. "So how did you suppress your hatred?" She asked.

Izuku's eyes went wide as his face turned crimson. He looked away from them embarrassed while poking his index fingers together, mumbling something under his breath.

"Come oooooon Izukuuuuu." Whined Mei. "Speak up. I want to know to." Izuku once again Mumbled something they couldn't hear. Mei cupped her ear facing Izuku. "What was that?" She asked.

"I thought about how much I care and want to protect all of you and everyone else who's been there for me, and how I don't want to live without you!" He yelled out rapidly, eyes squeezed shut, expecting to hear them laugh at him.

He stood there waiting until he felt something soft on both his cheeks. His blush deeper to reds no man has ever even dreamed of when he noticed it was his mom and Mei kissing him on the cheeks. He was too flustered to realize the number in his head had jumped to 828. "Wh-wh-why d-did y-y-y-you g-guys do th-th-that?" He stuttered.

They were both giving him a wide smile. "Because it was very sweet, and we wanted to." Answered Shoka.

"And we feel the same." Said Mei.

"Now hold still. I still gotta give you my kiss." Said Midnight lovingly.

"Me too." Said Present Mic.

Izuku had shut down and had smoke coming out of his mouth as the two of them kissed his cheeks as well. He was absolutely embarrassed. He was brought back as he felt another pair of lips on his right cheek. Looking at the source, he saw a very embarrassed Komori.

"I feel the same." She said, barely loud enough for Izuku to hear. He could also hear several girls giggling.

He looked at all of them with an appreciative smile. Happy at where his life has gone.

'They'll all abandon you eventually.' Came the voice in his head. While it did sour his mood a bit, he shut it away.

Nejire watched from the sidelines. She kinda wanted to kiss him to, because she found his flustered reaction hilarious. But she wasn't going to impede on their moment. But once hey calmed down, she walked up to them. "So you ready to practice?" She asked.

Izuku gave her a determined look, and nodded his head. "Yes."

At that, everyone went back to what they were doing, with Izuku having both Nejire and Shoka both overseeing him. They stood next to each other as they watched Izuku make more shots. They were slow, he was only launching one every few seconds, with him having difficulty from time to time. It even went out of control a couple more times, including firing off that beam of his again. As Nejire said, it wasn't going to be easy to just forget his hate. And Shoka knew it was going to be awhile before he could use his quirk freely. She was going to have to inform Hound Dog of this update.

Speaking of Hound Dog, she was going to have to thank her. Just a few weeks ago, there was no way Izuku would have opened up the way he did. He's obviously still keeping a lot buried, he's still struggling. But he made a lot of progress today, and she'll be there to continue helping him on the long road ahead. But for now, she wanted answers from someone else.

"So how did you know he hates his quirk?" She asked, without even looking away from Izuku.

"Because I used to hate MY quirk when I was younger." She replied nonchalantly.

Shoka quickly turned her head to Nejire. "Why?"

"My quirk uses my own vitality. It sucks literally draining your own stamina just to use your quirk, it's also not the most comfortable thing in the world. To train I had to have someone watch over me just in case, which I couldn't always find." She said simply, before looking dejected. "And constantly being reminded that my own quirk could kill me if I'm not careful, really isn't all that pleasant either." As if flipping a switch, she went back to smiling. "But at least my own experience came in handy in helping someone else."

Shoka smiled at Nejire. She felt she needed to re-evaluate her opinion of Nejire. Maybe of other students as well. "Thank you. I really owe you one."

Nejire shrugged. "Nah. You've helped me a bunch in your class. You may be harsh, and outright mean sometimes, but I know you do it because you care. That you want us to be the best we can be. So the way I see it, I still owe you."

Yup. She definitely needed to re-evaluate her opinion. "Be a proper hero and consider us even. Ok?"

Nejire nodded to Shoka happily. "Way ahead of you."

Shoka nodded back then turned back to look at Izuku who was currently muttering up a storm while looking at his hand. She walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder, snapping him out of his trance.

Izuku quickly slammed his hands over his mouth looking scared.

Shoka mentally facepalmed for startling him, she figured she would have learned by now. She gently put her other hand on his arm. "Hey it's ok. You're not in trouble. I was just wondering what you were muttering about." She said gently.

The fear slowly faded from his face as he took a few deep breaths through his nose. Once he calmed down he lowered his hands and looked at them. "I-I was just th-thinking about the e-e-energy flow."

"What about it?" Asked Shoka.

"W-well it travels t-to my palms from m-my chest a-and I release it." He said before looking at her. "But I-I was wondering I-if there was a-anything else I could d-do if I directed it e-elsewhere."

Shoka smiled at him. "Well there's only one way to find out. And a lot of things to try. I'll make sure nothing bad happens to you."

Izuku nodded with an appreciative smile. He started debating on what to try first. Unfortunately thanks to accidentally firing his beam again earlier he was down to 340. 'Mom has some amazing reaction speed.' He thought. He had to be smart about what he tries. As he debated what to try first, a memory came to him. It was of the dream he had the morning of the day his life changed for the better. More specifically, he thought about the flying. He had always thought about how awesome it must be to have a flying quirk. To feel the exhilaration that must come with it. The freedom.

He decided, even if it doesn't work, he has to try it. Thinking on all the positive emotions he felt the power gather in his chest, but instead guided it to his back. It felt... right. The power streamed slowly, as he felt a pressure on his back, like something was pushing out. But it was slow. 330. He hated thinking about the possibility of wasting Mei's help, but he was determined to see this through. He willed the flow to increase, and suddenly a huge surge blasted from his chest to his back, as he felt like his back expanded... a lot. 220, and steadily dropping. By about 10 a second if he had to guess.

He opened his eyes as he heard a few gasps. Turning around to the source he felt resistance on his back, where he noticed the others stare at him wide-eyed. 170. Only he noticed they weren't staring at him, they were staring behind him. 150. He turned his head, and his eyes shot open. 130. He knew he was attempting it, but this isn't what he hoped to see.

Instead of vibrant wings with feathers his heart dropped at what he saw. 100. On his back were wings that reminded him of a bat. He stood there inspecting the wings on his back 80. No. 70. A demon. 50. Complete with spikes at the end of every ridge. 40 He knew his quirk was named after a demon. 30. Something his birth mother chose for him without his consent. 20. But from what he saw now, he believed she was always right. 10. His quirk is evil. 0

When he hit zero, the wings retracted into his back. It just felt like a pressure on his back, going the opposite of how it felt when they were brought out.

Izuku turner back to the others terrified of what he might see. But they still had shocked faces, but less so than before. "Izuku..." Said Mei. He clenched his eyes, bracing for what she was going to say. She was going to call him evil, a demon, a villain, something along those lines and tell him she didn't want anything more to do with him. "That was awesome! How did you do that!?" She said excitedly as she rushed up to him.

Slowly he opened his eyes in surprise, looking at the smile on her face. He was confused. He looked at the others who were smiling at him as well.

"I don't know what I was expecting, but it definitely wasn't that." Said Shoka.

"Bring them back out! I want to check them out!" Yelled Nejire.

"That looked kickass." Said Present Mic.

"No kidding. With those he can easily pull off the sexy devil look." Said Midnight with a smirk, earning her a backhanded smack to her arm from Shoka.

"That was really cool Izuku." Said Komori, who has a blush on her face.

Izuku looked at all of them with surprise. It was not the reaction he was expecting. And it made him feel like such a fool. 'I keep expecting the worse from them. But they've constantly been there for me.' He smiled at them. "Thank you all. And I can't bring them back out. They seem to require a constant stream of energy, and I'm all out now." He said scratching the back of his head.

As if on cue, Mei grabbed hold of him, holding him in an embrace. "Here let me help." She said happily. For some reason he's getting pheromones a little faster, and while still very nice, the embrace felt different. He even noticed Komori was still blushing and looking away.

"Mei, you might want to let him put on a new shirt." Called Shoka with a smirk.

'Huh?' Thought Izuku. He looked down and his eyes nearly bulged out of his head as he saw his shirt was missing. No, not missing, just ripped and on the floor. He failed to realize or even notice that his shirt ripped when he summoned the wing. He was blushing from embarrassment. 'I really need to think these things through more.' He was really glad he wasn't wearing The training suit Mei made for him. He would have felt horrible if he destroyed it.

"I'm comfortable with this." Said Mei happily.

"Um M-Mei? Can I-I please put o-on a shirt?" Asked Izuku. Mei started pouting and reluctantly let go. 'So cute.' Thought Izuku.

"Fine. But we're cuddle AND I get to be the big spoon later." She said firmly.

He could hear his aunts snickering. "O-ok." He said nervously, before turning to leave, only for the fatigue to hit him and making him stumble. Mei quickly helped keep him stable.

Shoka could easily see his fatigue, and looking over Mei and Komori, they were tired too. They have been here for about an hour and a half. "You've all worked hard, so we'll stop here. Go ahead and shower as well."

Before he could say anything, Midnight spoke up. "Separately." Present Mic obviously holding back laughter at that, and Nejire giggled.

Both Mei and Izuku had full face crimson blushes. "I wasn't going to do that!" Shouted Mei embarrassed. Though if she was being honest, now that he thought was in her head, it sounded appealing. She walked off when she saw Midnight and Present Mics knowing smirks. Izuku stiffly following behind with Komori, who was also blushing at the thought, behind him.

Shoka walked up to Midnight and smacked her on the arm. "You know they're too young for that." She scolded.

Midnight simply smirked at Shoka. "They're of legal age. And you know if we're right about Izuku's quirk, you're going to have to get used to the fact that it's going to happen often."

Shoka pinched the bridge of her nose. "And I accept that. Doesn't mean I want to think about it." She said annoyed.

Midnight and Present Mic we're chuckling when Nejire walked up, earning their attention. "Sensei's, can I help with future training?" She asked.

Shoka smiled at her, while Midnight and Present Mic smirked. "Oh? And why do you want to help?" Asked Present Mic, in an implicating tone.

"Izuku's quirk is interesting, and want to see more of what it can do." Said Nejire, seemingly oblivious to what Present Mic was implying. "I want to know why that pink haired girl is the only one he can get pheromones from. Oh! And maybe find out how I can give him some! Maybe that will help him do more cool stuff!" She said excited, looking ready to ramble off more reasons before Shoka stopped her by putting her hand up to stop her.

"You can help. We'll let you know about future training sessions." Answer Shoka.

Nejire smiles wide. "Thank you! Guess I'll be going now. Bye!" She said as she started running off.

The three were left there standing, Present Mic and Midnight still with smirks on their face. "If I didn't know better, I'd assume Izuku's quirk is being a ladies magnet." Said Present Mic.

They faced Shoka. "You know this means you're probably going to be a mother-in-law to several girls, with a LOT of grandchildren." Teased Midnight.

Shoka hung her head, putting her face in one of her hands. "What did I get myself into." She mumbled.

"You regretting it?" Asked Present Mic, already knowing the answer.

Shoka smiled towards the exit. "Not one bit."


	11. Chapter 10: A Familiar Scene

A/N I finally finished it! I'm sorry it took so long, I'm not gonna lie. I've been struggling, not with wanting to write, but with focusing on writing. Whenever I try, my mind just keeps wondering. But I'm looking into ways to help with that. Thank you all for your patience, and I hope you can all continue to be while I find something to help me. Any and all feedback would be appreciated. I hope you all enjoy the chapter!

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FanFictionReaderIne - Thank you, I'm glad you liked it! don't worry plenty of IzuMei cuddles and more are on their way!

middernacht - Don't worry, it's already a harem story. Whether it will be a large one or massive is still being decided. When certain characters that I haven't decided on yet enter the story, I will open a poll on if they should be in it not.

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* BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP* *SLAM*

"Uuuggghhh." Groaned Kinoko. She looked at her alarm clock which read 6:00 A.M. "I shouldn't have been up so late texting." She mumbled to herself. Her, Izuku, and Mei stayed up til about one in the morning texting each other. Though despite what she says, she didn't really mean it. After all, this wasn't the first time they've done it. Her mom scolded her the first time, but couldn't hide the smile on her face. She doesn't even want to think about what her dad would do if she did it while with him.

Kinoko, uncovered herself, revealing her sleepwear consisting of a pajama shirt with an image of a cute animated mushroom, and a pair of shorts. She, started gathering supplies for her morning shower. Before she left, she heard her phone notifying her she had a text. She checked it out and smiled when she saw it was Mei sending a "Good Morning!" text, to her and Izuku in the group chat.

After their training over a month ago, her feeling have started evolving. It didn't take long for her to figure out that she was crushing on both of them. It's not her first crush, but she's never fallen this hard. And after that revelation she asked them to call her by her first name, to which they agreed and asked her to do the same.

In the laundry room outside the shower, (A/N I couldn't find what either of these rooms are called in Japan. If you know, I'd appreciate the information.) she stripped bare. Before she stepped through the door into the shower, she inspected herself in the mirror. She rubbed her hands over her breasts, which hovered between a B and C cup, (Something that causes her a lot of hassle.) down her stomach that had traces of a six-pack, around her smallish hips, and over her firm ass.

Kinoko had never considered herself beautiful, but not ugly either. She just didn't think she was anything special. She feels that she is dull, plain, average, things along those lines. And when she's with Mei, it's more prominent.

Kinoko smiled gently, but with them she's never felt unappealing. From time to time she'd get compliments from the two of them. Mei was more open about it, but every time Izuku did, it was obvious he just let it slip out, then he'd apologize and act like he'd committed some kind of crime. Kinoko's smile fell into a frown. The compliments always made her feel good, but it broke her heart when she saw Izuku look so... afraid. Always looking like he expected her to yell at him... or beat him. It shows how Izuku had been treated in the past. But she and everyone else he compliments always reassured him it was fine, and that they liked whenever he complimented them.

They haven't gotten any more information into his past since that day of training, and as bad as Mei and her want to ask, they don't. He will tell them at his own pace. Kinoko sighs, she had better hurry getting ready. She doesn't want to be late. A smile reappeared on her face. She was excited because they were going to hang out after school. Well that's what they usually do, but usually at Izuku's and spend some time training with his mom, aunts, and Nejire. And sometimes it's at Mei's parents garage. This time Mei told them about an arcade she heard about, and she wanted to check it out. She's not usually one for video games, but playing with them was really fun.

She quickly finished her shower, and started texting the two in the group chat, as Izuku had started texting as well while she was showering. Her mom had breakfast ready for her when she finished getting dressed.

Ms. Komori had expressed multiple times how happy she is to hear that her daughter had gotten such close and good friends. Even telling her that she could invite them over if she wanted. She even seemed especially proud when she learned that one of them is Izuku. Kinoko had once asked her if she knew anything about Izuku, and despite trying to hide it, her change in demeanor was obvious. All she was told was roughly the same thing Mei told her. That he hasn't had a good life. But she could tell her mom knew more. Despite wanting to prod for more information, Kinoko left it at that, her and Mei had to have good reasons for not telling her anything.

Like usual, Ms. Komori drove her daughter to the school with her. She was always early because of it, but it was a lot better than taking public transportation, and gave her more time to prepare at home. So doing her usual routine, she waited out front for Mei and Izuku. They were usually pretty early themselves, so she never had to wait to long.

"Hey Kinoko!" She heard Mei yell.

Kinoko smiled as she got up to meet up with them. Despite it having already been a week, her smile grew even larger at seeing Izuku walk without his cane standing at his full height of 5'5, making him the tallest of the three. He was still scrawny, but he was a hell of a lot better than when they first met. (A/N imagine Izuku at the start of the anime.) Though she felt a pang of jealousy when she saw the two holding hands. She knew they had a crush on each other, though neither of them knew the others feelings. So they were being affectionate under the guise of helping Izuku collect pheromones. She wanted to be affectionate too, but was too embarrassed to ask.

Admittedly she fell for their ruse for a while, but she found out after Izuku announced he had a new name for the value in his head for the Pheromones. Attar. At first, she and Mei both thought it was just some name he made for it. But after she saw the knowing smirks his mom and aunts were sharing, she decided to look it up. Looking it up that night she found out that it is the essential oils extracted from flowers. It wasn't hard to connect the dots. She doubts Mei knows though. "Hey! So we still on for after school?"

The two of them smiled and nodded. "Of course! I can't wait! I heard they have a game where you pilot a Mech!" Said Mei excitedly. The two chuckled at her enthusiasm.

Kinoko turned to Izuku. "So how you holding up? Not having any difficulty walking?" She asked Concerned.

"No, though I do get tired after a while, I'm going to continue to push through it. I can't get better unless I do." Said Izuku with strong resolve in his eyes.

Kinoko doubts she will ever getting tired of seeing his unmatched resolve and determination. "Just don't push yourself too hard. Wouldn't want you getting hurt."

Izuku chuckled. "You are the 6th person to tell me that. Today." He said with an appreciative smile.

"Just shows how much we all care." Said Mei happily.

Izuku nodded. "And I wouldn't have it any other way."

"So have you guys heard anything about Yuno's trial?" Asked Kinoko as they all started walking into the school.

Mei immediately looked annoyed. "The case is still stagnant. Hers and her brothers. I hate how slow the justice system works sometimes, and lawyers who defend those kinds of people even more."

Izuku scratched the back of his head. "At least the school expelled her. While their parents posted bail, they are under constant supervision." He said trying to placate Mei.

The topic did remind him of the case against Ms. Chiaki. Her case was still ongoing as well, but she was unable to post bail, and his ex siblings have been put into new foster homes. The worst part though, is the lawyer is trying to pull the same thing Murisaki's had and place the blame him. Izuku was brought out of his stupor when he felt himself getting shaken.

"Izuku are you ok?" Asked Mei concerned, she was the one shaking him after seeing him stop responding to her and Kinoko while looking depressed.

Izuku looked at both of them as they both looked very concerned. "I'm sorry. I was just lost in thought." He said, trying to feign optimism. But true to his horrible acting, they saw right through it, but the chose not to say anything.

Mei decided to change the subject. "So you never told us how your mom convince Ms. Michie to retire early." She said to Kinoko.

"Well with the help of the hidden camera you built, I got a ton of evidence of what she and several other teachers were doing. She gave them the option to either retire, resign, or to give the video to both the school board and parents. Ms. Michie was one of the few who were smart enough to take the offer. Considering the recent rise in attention schools are getting, the school board can't just sweep it under the rug. But a few thought they could fight it, though I doubt they'll win." Said Kinoko happily.

Mei sighed in relief. "I'm just glad we won't have to deal with her next year, and that she's stopped being a bitch."

Kinoko nodded. "No kidding. And from what I heard, other schools are doing similar staff reforms."

Izuku looked down slightly with a sad but still happy smile. "At least something good came out it." He said quietly, not knowing the other two heard.

Mei leaned her head on Izuku's shoulder, bring him out of his stupor. "No mopping. This is a happy day. We're almost third years, the horrible teachers are almost out the door, and we're going to an arcade today. I want to you to be happy."

Izuku looked at Mei, then at Kinoko who was giving him a caring smile, one he returned. "Yeah. Today's a good day." He said. But he couldn't quiet shake the feeling that something big was going to happen today. Whether it was good or bad, he didn't know.

*several hours later*

School is over, and they had gotten off the train not long ago. The three were walking along the path next to a river. Unfortunately the arcade wasn't that close to the train station, so they decided to just head straight to the arcade, and because of that, they still had their uniforms on, though Izuku had his blazer and tie stored in his backpack. He had no idea why he decided to take them off, he just felt like he should. "Yeah mom, I'm alright. We should be getting to the arcade here shortly. Thanks again for letting me go to the arcade with Mei and Kinoko." He said appreciatively.

"Of course. You sure you'll be ok?" Came the worried voice of Shoka from the phone, showing her over protective mother side.

Izuku chuckled lightly. "I'm sure. If anything happens, you, aunt Mic, and aunt Midnight have been training us well." He said trying to reassure her.

Shoka sighed. "Just promise to be careful, ok?" Asked Shoka.

"I promise."

"Thank you. Love you, have fun." She said with still a hint of worry in her voice.

"Love you too, see you when I get home." Replied Izuku, before hanging up.

"Your mom is still worried?" Asked Mei knowingly, as they started walking under a tunnel.

"Yeah, but it just shows how much she cares." Replied Izuku.

"That's true. My mom has been fussing over me more since Yuno and her friends jumped us." Replied Kinoko as they started walking through a tunnel.

"Yeah, well my parents act like I'm always going to getting attacked when I leave the house." Said Mei with a pout.

Before the other two had a chance to respond, they heard the sounds coming from behind them. They all turned around and saw some kind of green sludge seeping through a manhole cover before a bunch quickly conglomerated in front of them. To their horror, two eyes emerged from the sludge, along with a giant terrifying smile with sharp teeth. "Perfect. Three medium-sized meat suits. Now I can sneak out of the city and escape HER undetected." Came a wet gurgling voice from the sludge. The three of them instinctively knew that this is a villain.

The three were stunned in horror at the sight. Unable to act Mei could only think of one thing to say. "Maybe my parents have a point." She mumbled. Izuku and Kinoko slowly nodded their heads.

Suddenly three tentacles came shooting out of the sludge villain at them. Izuku came out of his stupor as a thought ran through I'm his head. 'I must protect them!' Using his quirk he sent 10 attar into each arm. But instead of launching it out of his hands, he spread it through the muscles in his arms and shoulders, giving him a one-time increase in their strength output. He quickly shifted his arms to his sides, putting them just below Mei's and Kinoko's chests and pushed them back as hard as he could, sending them flying back about 8 feet (243.84 cm). "Run!" He yelled before he was engulfed by the sludge and pulled into the villain, while the other two tentacles slammed into the ground where they once stood. He was now at 1,072

Mei and Kinoko landed a little hard on the ground, but the action brought them back to their senses. The quickly sat up, seeing the sludge villain forcing itself into Izuku's mouth. He launched a couple energy blasts into the villain only for nothing to happen but cause a smell of burning garbage. He tried again with larger blasts to the same result, causing the villain to laugh. "IZUKU!" They both screamed. 1,060

The villain laughed louder at hearing the girls screams. "Don't worry, once I'm done with your friend here, you'll be joining him." He said menacingly while Izuku was trying to claw the sludge off of him.

Mei and Kinoko scrambled to their feet. "Let go of him!" Screamed Kinoko as she raised her hands in front of her and started spreading the spores of a highly paralytic mushroom as fast as possible. Only the mushrooms grew all around the tunnel, but not on the villain.

"Hahahah! That's a cute quirk. But I can instantly ingest those spores of yours. I'm also immune to poisons and toxins. But go ahead and keep trying." Bragged The sludge villain.

Seeing Kinoko's quirk not do anything to the villain, Me quickly rushed towards the villain. Kinoko tried to stop her, but Mei made it out of her reach before she could. Before Mei could reach, Izuku in his worry, had sprouted a single wing and added more attar to it to increase its strength. Flapping the wing once, he created a powerful wind pressure, sending Mei stumbling back, and Kinoko was able you stand her ground. 980.

"Ohoho, you seem to have a few tricks up your sleeves. Maybe I can use you to defeat her." Came the voice of sludge villain as Izuku retracted the wing.

Mei was once again about to charge the villain to try to pull Izuku out, but before she could Kinoko grabbed hold of her to stop her. "What are you doing!? We need to save him!" She yelled.

"I know! But he can't be saved if you get caught too!" Yelled Kinoko back.

"Then how do we save him?!" Screamed Mei as tears started pouring out of her eyes.

Kinoko's grip over Mei loosed, though Mei couldn't find the strength to try break free. "I... I don't know." Said Kinoko quietly as she started crying as well. Their hearts were breaking as they were losing hope of saving Izuku.

"Hahahahah! There is nothing you can do. Tell you what, since I got such a good catch here, I'm feeling generous. If you run now and leave me the boy, I'll let you live." Said the villain in a cocky tone.

Anger well within the two of them. "Never!" They screamed. Their safety be damned, they both started to rush the villain again, only to stop when they heard the sound of something hitting metal behind them. They turned around right as the manhole cover hit the ground and All Might herself was stepping out. She was wearing a skin tight white shirt, dark green cargo pants, and heavy brown boots.

"HAVE NO FEAR! FOR I AM HERE!" She boomed as she stood at her full 7'0 ft. With her signature smile.

"Damn it! Stay away!" Yelled the villain as he launched a couple tendrils aimed at All Might.

All Might dashed past the girls with her fist cocked. "DETROIT SM..." she started only to stop abruptly before something she didn't expect happened.

Just after he launched Mei using his wing trying to keep Mei safe from the villain, Izuku was hoping they'd run away from there. His attacks weren't working, and he believed that this would be his end, but he didn't want it to be theirs. He couldn't tell All Might showed up as his vision started to go blurry, but he saw both Mei and Kinoko get closer. He knew they were going to rush the villain again. 'No. I must protect them.' He thought.

With his vision going dark and the sludge covering his ears, he had no way of knowing All Might would stop the villain and rescue them. 'The only way to save them is to defeat the villain. But how?' He thought. Then it hit him. He remembered a thought he had after his last training session. Would he be able to send energy blast through more than just his hands? 'It's the only way to keep them safe.'

He quickly sent energy to every inch of his torso, arms, and even into his mouth, not having time for more but not putting it into any of his muscles, causing him to glow red just like his energy blasts. (A/N I realized I never explained the color of his energy blasts, sorry.) He didn't glow for long, because he released the energy all at once. But instead of it being a blast, it came out as a strong energy burst, splattering the villain all over the tunnel and even some on All Might, knocking out the villain before it even knew what happened. 930.

Izuku didn't have a chance to know his plan had worked before his vision went completely black, and he fell on the floor unconscious.

All Might stood there mid punch, stunned by what just happened. The hostage blowing apart the villain definitely wasn't on her list of expected events. She was brought out of her stupor as Mei and Kinoko rushed past her. "Izuku!" They screamed as they rushed over to him.

The two of them quickly kneeled next to him, with Kinoko at the top of his head, and Mei at his chest. Having flashbacks to the day they met, Mei immediately put her ear to his chest, checking for a heartbeat.

She found it.

Mei let out a sigh as relief flooded through her, as she also felt the gentle rise and fall of his chest signifying that he was still breathing. Before she sat up and noticed Kinoko was looking at her afraid and waiting for an answer. "He's alive." She said. Kinoko visibly relaxed a bit, and they both turned their attention back to Izuku. While he was indeed alive, they were still worried about him. Mei started lightly slapping his cheek. "Izuku. Izuku, wake up. Please wake up." She said practically begging.

Thankfully he started to groan and stir. His eyes slowly opening up before he started coughing a bit, Mei and Kinoko couldn't help but smile, tears still streaming down their faces. Once the blurriness in his vision started to fade, Mei and Kinoko were the first things he saw. He smiled as he easily remembered what just happened. "Thank god you're not hurt." He said, voice a little hoarse.

The two girls wrapped Izuku in a hug. "You idiot, you're the one who was in the hands of a villain. You need to worry about yourself." Said Mei attempting to be upset with him, but was just too happy that he was alive to be mad.

Izuku wrapped an arm each around the two girls. "Sorry Mei, but I won't let anything bad happen to you, either of you, if I can help it. I wouldn't be able to handle it if either of you got hurt." He replied.

Both girls were a mix of emotions. Happy he was still alive, sad that he was in danger and still wasn't worrying about his own safety, and they also felt safe. Despite the fact that he just started being able to walk properly just recently, he had proven he will defend them.

"Just make sure you always come back. We don't want to lose you either." Said Kinoko, who couldn't help but blush from the close contact.

Izuku's smile widened. "I will."

They stayed like that for a few more seconds before hearing someone walk closer. Mei and Kinoko quickly sat up, and they turned towards the noise and saw All Might walking closer to them. Izuku's eyes widened at the sight, not knowing she was even here, while Mei and Kinoko had forgotten in their worry.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I wanted to make sure you're all ok." She said, her signature smile.

Mei and Kinoko both shot Izuku a stern gaze that told him, 'be honest.' Causing him to chuckle nervously. "I-I'm ok. Just exhausted." He answered. He started to sit up, which Mei and Kinoko wasted no time in helping him. But as they did they started blushing as they finally processed that he was currently missing his shirt. He may be scrawny, but they still enjoyed the sight. "Thank you for saving us."

Izuku was confused by the puzzled glances he received from the three, Mei's and Kinoko's blushes quickly fading. "Izuku, you're the one who defeated the villain. Don't you remember?" Asked Kinoko concerned.

Izuku shook his head. "Last thing I remember before I blacked out was thinking I needed to defeat him to keep you two safe. I tried something I hadn't done before, and I was out before even seeing if it even worked." He answered honestly. "Ah! We need to contain the villain before he wakes up!" Yelled Izuku panicked.

Mei's and Kinoko's eyes went wide, and were about to panic as well, before they heard All Mights boisterous laugh. "Have no fear young ones, I have already secured the villain." She said as she patted the 2 liter bottle in her pocket.

The three of them glanced behind All Might and saw that there wasn't even a trace of the sludge villain left. 'How did she fit all of him into that bottle?' They all thought simultaneously.

All Might had a different thought run through her head. 'He was more concerned with safety of his friends than his own? He might be the one. But why does he look so familiar?' She thought. She walked up to the three and kneeled down in front of them, but due to her height she still dwarfed them. "What's your name young man?"

Izuku looked All Might directly in the eyes with what she could only interpret as discontent. "Izuku Aizawa" he replied curtly, all traces of the gratitude he showed earlier was gone, shocking all of them.

All Might quickly recovered from her shock. "*Ahem* Well I'm happy to see you're all mostly unharmed, but we should..." she started.

"Shouldn't you turn the villain in before it wakes up?" Interrupted Izuku.

All Might was able to take the hint, but aside from jealous or angry colleagues, she wasn't used to this kind of treatment. She was going to press the matter to see if she could help ease whatever was going on with Izuku when the all too familiar pain that comes from her reaching her time limit. "Er, yeah, I should. Stay safe citizens." She said as she walked out of the tunnel and leaped away as fast as possible to get somewhere excluded. What she failed to notice in her rush though, the villain fell out of her pocket mid leap.

The bottle landed in an alley just before three high schoolers turned the corner. A blond with spiky blond hair in a ponytail going halfway down her back with what looked like permanent resting bitch face. And the only one of the three that actually mattered, Katsumi Bakugo. She was followed by a couple of guys, both skinny, one with spiky black hair, and the other with shoulder-length brown hair, they also looked overly thirsty and were constantly taking glances at her ass. But they were smart enough to not try anything, especially after witnessing a guy get sent to the infirmary after apparently grabbing her ass. The guy was three times her size with rocks covering parts of his body. Poor fool never stood a chance.

"Hey Bakugo, I got an idea, let's go hit the arcade." Said the guy with black hair.

"Yeah, sure. Whatever." Said Katsumi noncommittally.

"Or maybe we could sneak into the bar near the station." Suggested the other while pulling out a cigarette and putting it in his mouth. He was thinking that a few drinks might 'loosen up' Bakugo. Though he should have known by now, not to suggest such things.

Bakugo quickly turned to face him looking ready to rip him a new asshole. "You idiot! You know I'm trying to get into U.A.! And if we get caught they'll never let me in! And stop smoking those things near me!" She screamed as she grabbed the guys' cigarette, crushed it, and tossed it.

She was absolutely fuming, it seems like these extras keeps trying to prevent her from getting into U.A. She would have stopped hanging with them long ago, but they were good at massaging her ego. Plus she knew what these two extras were really after, and making them believe they ever stood a chance was the only entertainment she really had. At least ever since that damn Deku left without telling her all those years ago. Now her blood was boiling even more because she was thinking about stupid Deku again. In her anger she kicked a nearby bottle, causing it to hit a nearby pole and the cap to pop off.

Bakugo was shooting death glares at the two guys while they were trying to calm her down, when suddenly something started rising behind Bakugo. The two guys looked up at it in fear before booming it out of there as fast as possible. Bakugo turned around as she heard a wet, gurgling voice behind her.

"Ah good, another meat suit just ripe for the taking." Said the sludge villain. Bakugo quickly blasted the villain, but it didn't have any effect, causing her to take a single step back in fright then refused to move anymore. "And powerful too, you'll be perfect." Said the villain before it engulfed Bakugo.

*back at the tunnel right after All Might left.*

Izuku started to stand back up, with Mei and Kinoko assisting. "Izuku? What was that about?"

"What was what about?" He replied in a tone suggesting he knew exactly what she meant.

"Please Izuku, don't play dumb with me. What's going on?" Asked Mei in a stern but concerned tone. "You just suddenly seemed so cold to her."

Izuku's didn't look at her as he just stared towards the direction All Might left from with a solemn and thoughtful look. "It's because I thought she saved you two, so I was willing to be friendly." He replied, pain evident in his voice. Izuku tightly balled his fists, before turning around and taking a couple steps in the other direction. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Izuku please. We just want to help you." Pleaded Kinoko. "

Izuku sighed. "I know, but it's too much right now." He looked around before he found his backpack that he somehow lost in all the commotion. As he went to pick it up, he realized that his shirt was missing. 'Oh yeah, my wing ripped it and the blast probably destroyed it.' He thought annoyed, yet thankful he took off his uniform, and his pants seemed to be ok. "Let's just say I needed help, but not only did she not come to my aid, she tried to convince those who were helping me that I was lying." He replied solemnly as he pulled out a spare shirt he kept on him and put it on. 'And it taught me you can't rely on anyone.' He thought, before flung on his backpack and started walking in the direction they were originally heading in. Despite the sadness he was feeling, a single tear wasn't even being shed.

At least from Izuku. Mei and Kinoko both silently gasped and tears formed in their eyes. They rushed to catch up with Izuku and wrapped him in a hug, stopping him in his tracks.

"I'm sorry you had to go through something so horrible." Said Kinoko.

"Whenever you're ready to talk about it, we'll be there to listen." Said Mei.

A couple tears finally escaped Izuku's eyes. He was glad they didn't trap his arms as he wrapped them in a hug as well. "Thank you." He said happily. But hating that after all everyone has done for him, he can't seem to get rid of such thoughts and feelings, and he just lets them take over.

'It's because you know it's only a matter of time.' Came the voice in his head. It was getting easier to ignore it, while simultaneously becoming so much harder.

After a few seconds Izuku released the hug, prompting the other two to do the same. Izuku wiped the tears from his eyes and flashed them a smile. "Come on, we were going to go to the arcade and have some fun." He said.

The other two smiled softly and nodded before drying their own tears. "Yeah, let's not let that stupid villain ruin our day." Said Kinoko encouragingly.

The three started walking again and just exited the tunnel when an idea came to Mei. "Oh Izuku, that new attack you did was amazing! You also defeated your first villain, saving all of us! I think that deserves a reward!" Said Mei ecstatic.

Izuku was about to say he didn't need a reward when suddenly Mei grabbed his face with both of her hands, turned his head to face her, and planted a kiss on his lips, stunning Izuku and making his whole face turn bright red. The kiss only lasted for three seconds, but it felt like hours to the both of them. And despite it being sloppy, and their teeth knock against each other in the process due to it being their first kiss, they both enjoyed every bit of it.

When Mei released him, Izuku was a red blubbering mess trying to ask why she did that. He was so flustered that he never processed that he was now at 975 attar. But suddenly he felt something soft on his cheek, making his go a brand-new shade of red, knowing that it was Kinoko kissing his cheek.

Kinoko also had a heavy blush on her face, but still had a smile on her face. "Thank you for saving us. You're my hero Izuku." She said softly, pushing through her embarrassment. But she was unable to look at him as she said that, making her miss the smirk Mei was shooting her way. 995.

Izuku had spirals in his eyes and steam shooting out of his ears. "I-it was m-my pleasure. I-I-I'd do it a-again in a h-heartbeat." He stuttered out.

The two girls looked at each other and started to giggle at his reaction, finding it cute. Both grabbed hold of his hand and started dragging him along again. Izuku was still absolutely embarrassed by what just happened paired with the fact that they are both holding his hands. All of it made him completely oblivious to the fact that his attar was going up faster than usual. 1,007

They weren't walking for very long when they heard an explosion coming from a few blocks away, and looked in the direction it came from with worry. They all kept staring when they heard another larger explosion, then another. All of them were worried that it was another villain going on a rampage, and while they knew that a hero would deal handle it, they all felt like they need to go to the source. It was as if they were being pulled to it. Izuku felt it the most as a feeling of familiarity ran through him, and a single thought passed through his mind. 'They're in danger.'

Without so much as a word spoken between them they all started running. None of them were familiar with the area, so they took what seemed to be the quickest path. Thanks to years of physical activity, Mei and Kinoko had no problems running and keeping up. But strangely enough, Izuku was ahead of both of them. But that didn't mean it was easy. His legs were burning, his chest felt like it was on fire, and it felt like his heart and lungs were going to explode. But he refused to stop or even slow down. He ran with all his might, he just had to get there, he had to help. And nothing was going to stop him.

Due to the explosions that kept going off, it was easy to find their way. Izuku was breathing hard when he reached the crowed and felt like he was about to keel over, but he refused to, and kept moving forward. The scene he found himself at was horrifying. Several building were on fire, while the hero Backdraft was trying to put out the fires. Kamui woods was rushing and swinging around saving bystanders. While that was going on Mt. Lady was in her giant form and was complaining that she needed a two lane road to get through. Death arms and a couple more heroes, one with a bird theme, and one with a basketball(?) theme, were just standing around doing nothing. The worst part was he saw the same sludge villain that attacks him, Mei, and Kinoko just minutes earlier. 'But he was in All Mights custody, how did he escape?' Thought not just Izuku, but Mei and Kinoko as well who have made it as well.

"This is horrible, why aren't the heroes doing anything" Asked a female bystander.

"It seems their quirks aren't doing anything. And I heard that the villain has a teenager hostage." Said a male bystander.

'WHAT!?' Thought Izuku. 'That thing has a hostage, and they refuse to help just because they don't have the right quirks?' Thought Izuku angrily. 'More heroes not being true heroes.' He was brought out of his anger when he spotted the hostage and their eyes met, and her eyes were filled with pure terror.

*few minutes ago*

Small Might AKA Toshino Yagi had leapt away desperately trying to get away from any prying eyes, she managed to land on a secluded roof several blocks away. She barely had time to even land before holding her muscle form became too difficult, and she had to release it, revealing her now true self.

While she was still tall, her frame was small. Most of her bones were at least somewhat visible, and even her cheeks were sinking in. She still had a bit of muscle, but it was barely there, and she knew she wouldn't have it for much longer.

After she shrunk down she sat down, leaning against the railing to rest a bit. It was exhausting even staying inside her time limit. But none of that is what is on her mind. No, it was a certain green and black haired boy. His eyes had shown so much kindness and caring. A drive to protect and help people. He seemed like a good candidate to be her successor. But for some reason, he seemed like he didn't like her, and she had no clue why.

She also had no clue as to why she feels like she deserves it. It's strange. She also had a nagging feeling that she knows the boy, but she can't remember from where. All Might gripped her shirt at the spot of the massive gnarly scar she got from her battle with All For One. Her time was quickly running out. She needs to find a successor, and soon. Otherwise, One For All will die with her, and she feared that if it did, something terrible will happen.

All Might let out a sigh. "Maybe I can ask Tsukauchi or Nezu if they know about the boy." She spoke aloud to herself as she got up and started walking to the door. Coughing up some blood as she started descending the stairs. "But for now, I need to turn you into the police." She said before patting the bottle the villain is in.

Or at least she would have if the bottle was still there. Her eyes went wide as she started frantically looking for the battle in her other pockets. She stopped when it hit her. 'No. I must have dropped it while I was in the air!' She thought distressed. Almost as if answering her fears, she heard a large explosion. She had no doubt that the villain was involved somehow.

She started running to the source as fast as she could. Her body felt like a million pounds, and her old injury almost felt like it would tear open. Her heart dropped at what she saw when she got there. Several heroes saving pedestrians, or trying to take down the villain to no avail. It was then she spotted the source of the explosions.

The villain is holding a young lady hostage, and she was trying to fight her way out. She gripped at her old wound again. 'I need to help. But I'm out of time. This is my fault, I was way too concerned with my time limit. I can't believe I made such a rookie mistake. And now that girl is going to pay the price for my mistake. I'm so useless. Weak. Pathetic. Worthless.' Thought All Might, as she spiraled deeper and deeper into despair. She was brought out of it by a scream from a familiar voice.

"WAIT, IZUKU!" Screamed a young ladies voice. Toshino turned to source and saw the two girls from the earlier incident. The pink haired one had her arm outstretched like she was trying to grab something. Or someone. Toshino quickly looked to the front of the crowd just as Izuku emerged. And what she saw next, absolutely astounded her.

Izuku wasn't sure what happened. The moment he saw the fear in the hostages eyes, hit feet had started moving before he even had a chance to think. He distinctly heard Mei scream after him, but he was laser focused on saving the girl.

His instincts had completely taken over, because as soon as he emerged from the crowd, he felt the familiar feeling of him growing his wings and his shirt ripping. Another stream of energy surged to his legs and into his muscles on every step to increase their power and allowing him to move faster. 907. 902. 897. 892.

"Kid stop! You're going to get yourself killed!" He heard Death Arms yell. But he didn't care, all that mattered was saving the hostage. Izuku suddenly felt a surge of energy go straight to his eyes, making everything seem to slow down to half speed. 872

It was then that the villain notice who was charging him. "You! I'll kill you for what you did to me earlier!" Yelled the villain, as it launched several tentacles at Izuku.

Seeing the incoming attacks, Izuku surged power into his wings to increase his maneuverability. The first tentacle aimed to pierce his chest, but with a flap of his right wing he got out of the way in time. 836. The next was going for his legs. Flapping both wings, he went airborne. 802. It seems the villain had good reaction time and move speed because the tentacles quickly followed him. The next tentacle tried to sweep at his head. So Izuku flapped his wings down, barely dodging the tentacle before flapping his wings again to level himself. 755.

Seeing more and more tentacles rush towards him Izuku quickly started flying around the villain, spinning and maneuvering, barely dodging every tentacle. 701.

Izuku had to think of something quick, he was using up attar fast, and what's worse, the hostage was running out of time. Suddenly an idea hit him. The villains eyes. They seemed solid, and striking the eyes would give him the time he needed to get the hostage out. But he had to be careful, he couldn't just unleash a barrage of blasts lest he hit the hostage. So he had to do something risky. So when the next tentacle came at him, he adjusted his trajectory, so he dove underneath and to the side. He was barely able to prevent himself from crashing into the ground as he flew straight to the villain just a couple inches off the ground. 627.

Izuku surged more power into his legs, and readied an energy blast into each of his hands. As soon as he was right next to the villain, he jumped off the ground in a way that killed his forward momentum and got himself some air over the villain. It hurt like hell because he didn't use enough to safely mitigate the force, but he could worry about that later. 567. Thankfully he was able to jump to the height he wanted, at just above the villain. And as soon as he reached the peak, he launched the blasts.

All the target practice his mom had him do paid off as he hit his targets. Making the villain scream in pain.

"YOU DAMN BRAT! JUST DIE ALREADY!" Screamed the villain as he swing another tentacle but completely missed.

Izuku didn't take the time to worry about the villain. He twisted his body midair, quickly identified the exact position in the sludge the hostage was at, and surged power into his right wing. 506. He cupped his wing and used it as an axe to chop through the villain around the hostage with as minimal amount of sludge as possible in his wing. As soon as the hostage was secure, he sent power into both of his arms, and in a huge ripping movement, he clawed at the sludge with so much force it created enough wind pressure to force the sludge off of her. 393. He quickly positioned his wing around the hostage, and twisted his body while sending power into his wing, he used it to launch her at Death Arms who promptly caught her, which she immediately started coughing up sludge. 358.

All Might couldn't believe what she was seeing. This boy was showing a tremendous amount of skill and foresight, seemingly staying one step ahead of the villain. 'Once again, this boy is doing my job for me. What kind of hero am I just standing here on the sidelines while someone else risks their lives. Limits be damned!' All Might started to forced One for All through her body, slowly bulking up. Her body was screaming for her to stop, be she refused to listen. She needed to end this!

"DAMN YOU! STOP GETTING IN MY WAY!" Yelled the sludge villain as it launched another attack at Izuku.

Something he was ready for. He sent power into his wings and legs. He quickly dodged to the side, and got ready to leap into the villain to defeat it using the same attack he used to do so earlier.

Only the attack never came. Izuku stopped in his tracks when he saw All Might had blocked the attack.

"I really am pathetic. Here you are, making up for my shortcomings for the second time today. Well no more!" Declared All Might.

"DAMN YOU ALL MIGHT!" Yelled the sludge villain as it tried attacking All Might.

"It is a pro's duty to put their lives on the line! That's the true mark of a hero! DETROOOIIIT SSSMMMAAAAAAAASSSSHHH!" Yelled All Might as she launched her attack. Causing so much wind pressure it broke the villain apart, blew out all the flames, and even created a tornado, requiring Mt. Lady to shield the bystanders to keep them from being hurt.

The tornado lasted a few seconds, but after it went away, everyone stood in awe at what just happened. Even Izuku. Then to everyone's surprise, it started to rain, and looking up at the clouds, they were spiraling.

"Holy crap. She just changed the weather with a single punch." Said Death Arms in disbelief.

"She did it. She defeated the villain!" Cheered a civilian, cause a roar of excitement and praise from the crowd.

But honestly all the praise made it her feel low. This wasn't her win. Not really. She knew Izuku could have defeated the villain again. But she couldn't let him do it. She had to protect him from the consequences.

Izuku stared up at All Might, not sure about how he should feel. Why did she feel the need to step in? Was this just to improve her image? Well it didn't really matter, the girl was safe and the villain was defeated that's all that was important to him. He was just about to walk back to Mei and Kinoko, but stopped when he heard someone yell.

"Izuku!" Came the voice of his mom.

Izuku was surprised as he turned and saw not just Mei and Kinoko running towards him, but his mom as well.

"Mom? What are you...?" He started before his mom crashed into him with a hug, quickly followed by Mei and Kinoko.

Before he even had a chance to react his mom released him from the hug, forcing Mei and Kinoko to let go as well. His mom gave him a look that was a mix of upset, concerned, stern, relieved, and proud. "What the heck were you thinking!? You could have gotten yourself killed!" She yelled. Her question prompted Mei and Kinoko to give home the same look, only Izuku couldn't help but find theirs cute.

"I'm sorry, but when I saw the look on the captives face, my legs just moved on their own. None of the heroes were doing anything to help, and I couldn't just let her die." Said Izuku apologetically, not knowing All Might overheard his answer.

'He truly is the one.' Thought All Might.

"What are you doing here anyways?" Asked Izuku.

"I'm here on patrol. You weren't going to be home, so I accepted another shift. When suddenly I hear explosions and find you fighting a villain." She defended, still looking upset, but now also seems embarrassed.

Izuku gave her a deadpan stare. "You were planning on keeping an eye on us weren't you?" He asked, Shoka blushing a bit at being busted.

Shoka was trying to stay upset with Izuku. He put himself in danger after all. But it was hard since he was just being the hero she knew he'll be. But there was still a problem. Shoka let out a sigh, blush disappearing from her face. She looked towards Izuku looking concerned. "Izuku, do you know what kind of trouble you're in?" Asked Shoka. Kinoko also looked worried, while Mei looked confused.

Izuku gave her a very serious look. "I do." He stared firmly.

"What do you mean? Why would he be in trouble?" Asked Mei.

As if to answer her question Death arms and Kamui woods walked up to them looking angry. "Young man, you're under arrest." Stated Death Arms.

"What?!" Yelled Mei, completely floored. "He just saved someone's life! Why are you arresting him!?"

"For vigilantism." Said Kamui Woods firmly.

That answer only upset Mei even more. "Are you kidding me!? He wouldn't have had to step in if you guys did your jobs instead of standing around!" Yelled Mei.

While Kamui Woods did look a little ashamed, Mei's words seemed to have only pissed off Death Arms. Death arms pointed a finger in Mei's face, who didn't even flinch at the action and stood her ground. "I'm not about to be lectured by a brat like you. He broke the law. Period." Stated Death Arms.

Mei was about to retort when she felt a hand on her shoulder, she turned and saw it was Izuku. He gave her a serious look and shook his head when she looked up at him.

"Mei, there's no use. They don't care about right or wrong." Stated Izuku.

Mei looked at him concerned. "Izuku." She said quietly.

Shame was flooding through Kamui Woods. "Maybe we should let him off with a warning, he did save someones life after all." Said Kamui Woods to Death Arms.

But Death Arms was having none of it. "He can say whatever he wants about it, but he broke the law, that's all there is to it. If we let him get away with it now, he's just going to do it again." Said Death Arms sternly, with barely repressed anger. Death Arms reached for Izuku when he was stopped by Shoka grabbing his arm. "What do you think your doing Eraserhead?" He asked angrily.

"Misuse of a quirk doesn't call for an arrest." She said firmly, with a threatening protective scowl that sent chills down Death Arms and Kamui Woods spines.

Death Arms ignored the chill as best as he could. "What are you talking about. That was vigilantism and you know it. He used his quirk to attack a villain." He argued, with a tinge of fear in his voice.

"She's right you know." Came the voice of All Might, gaining all of their attention as she walked up to them. "He only attacked when the villain had already attacked him several times. So his retaliation falls under self-defense, which is legal." Stated All Might.

"But he jumped into the middle of a fight to perform hero work without a license." Argued Death Arms, albeit weaker than had been.

All Might leaned forward to look Death Arms in the face. "He jumped in to rescue someone that wasn't getting rescued by the heroes on the scene. Do you really want word to spread about you arresting someone for doing what you weren't?" Said All Might menacingly.

Looking around him, Death Arms felt like he was stuck between a rock and death itself. Shoka and All Might both looked ready to put him down if he said the wrong thing, while Kamui Woods was just watching from the sidelines waiting to see the results.

"Fine, I'll let him off with a warning." Said Death Arms, trying not to sound like he almost crapped his pants. He gave Izuku a stern look. "Don't ever pull a stunt like this again, leave this kind of thing to the pros." He said sternly before walking away in a huff. Kamui Woods merely following behind, having nothing to add.

Mei and Kinoko wrapped Izuku in another hug, relieved nothing happened to him. Izuku instinctively returned it, but looked deep in thought before turning to All Might. "That's why you stepped in, isn't it?"

All Might Nodded. "If you were to attack the villain after the hostage was saved, there would have been nothing I could do. And I didn't want you to ruin your future as a hero." Replied All Might Kindly.

Izuku was feeling a mix of thoughts and emotions. This was someone who tried to convince Tsukauchi to stop investigating Murisaki. Someone who heard his plea, and not only ignored it, but judged him as being in the wrong without so much as even a glance into the situation. But now she was saving his hero career. This one act won't make him like her after what she did. But he could still show gratitude. "Thank you All Might."

"Happy to help Young Aizawa." All Might said earnestly.

The Police arrived on the scene shortly afterwards and contained the villain. Considering it took them multiple garbage bags to do so, Izuku, Mei, and Kinoko were again questioning how All Might did it with just a 2 liter bottle.

With the help of All Might, Eraserhead, And apparently Kamui Woods, the police let Izuku off with just a slap on the wrist. Though some of the more stickler cops still wanted to arrest him, and one who wanted to just because they recognized him. But Shoka discreetly reminded them of the last police officers who messed with him.

Despite him telling them he was fine, he couldn't hide how much pain he was feeling. So Shoka, Mei, And Kinoko forced him to get checked out by the paramedics. Thankfully he wasn't injured, just sore. So he was told to take it easy for a few days.

A few reporters, or vultures according to Shoka, showed up. Probably after hearing All Might was in sight. Though All Might left as soon as possible due to her pushing herself as is. Something that actually surprise me Shoka.

The sun was starting to set before everything was wrapping up, and it wasn't until after he was all checked out that he got the chance to talk to Bakugo and check in with her. She had just finished getting checked out by the paramedics herself and was still sitting in the back of the ambulance when he walked up to her. He was a little taken aback when he noticed the glare she was sending his way, but he couldn't help but feel that she was familiar. "Hey are you ok? I know how horrible it is to be held captive by that villain." He said while give her a kind smile.

Bakugo didn't speak right away, she just kept looking over Izuku. He seemed familiar to her. And for some reason she felt equal parts happy and pissed off just looking at him. Earlier she was honestly planning on swallowing her pride for a bit to thank him for rescuing her, but as is par for the course, her rage and ego won out. "I didn't need your damn help! I would have been fine on my own! So don't expect me to thank you!" She yelled as she jumped to her feet, earning the attention of several people around them.

Izuku recoiled at this, not expecting that reaction. "I-I'm not looking for a th-thank you. I'm just g-glad you're ok." Stuttered Izuku.

Bakugo didn't understand why she felt happy he was so concerned about her, but she wasn't going to admit it. "Tch, whatever." She huffed as she turned away from him.

Izuku didn't really know what to say at this point. So his awkward self decided it'd probably be best to leave her alone. "B-bye. Get home s-safe." He said before walking back to his mom and friends. All of whom overheard their conversation.

"She couldn't even bother to be grateful?" Said Mei exasperated.

"It's probably just how she is." Shrugged Izuku.

Mei sighed. "You're too kind for your own good you know" She said, before she hugged his arm and leaned her head on his shoulder. "But don't ever change." Kinoko smiled and nodded in agreement.

Shoka gestured down the road with a smile. "Come on, I'm parked a few blocks that way, and it's been a long day. Let's get something to eat and I'll drop you girls off at your homes."

"No kidding, I'm exhausted. And we didn't even get to go to the arcade." Sighed Kinoko.

Izuku chuckled. "We'll just have to go another time."

Kinoko smiled back and nodded. When she woke up today, this is not how she expected it to turn out. Twice today, Izuku had shown himself to be the hero she knew he'd be. 'But he almost died as well.' She thought sadly. She felt useless because she was unable to help and protect him, like he did her. But she refused to let it get her down. She just needed to train harder, so she can stand with him and keep him safe.

What she didn't know was Mei was thinking similar thoughts at that moment. With one major difference. She was thinking about a dream she had as a child that she thought she gave up on years ago. But once again seeing Izuku risk his life again made that long dead dream burst back to life. 'But I can't do it on my own. Maybe Shoka will help?' Thought Mei, determined to do everything in her power to make the dream reality this time around.

*One hour later at the Bakugo residence.*

Bakugo walked through the door, with a thoughtful scowl. She couldn't shake the feeling that she knew that guy, but she couldn't remember from where. "I'm back!" She half ass called out. Immediately she heard rapid footsteps coming closer. 'Great.' She thought exasperated.

Her mom, Mitsuki Bakugo, suddenly turned the corner and barreled into her, wrapping her in a hug, but quickly released her, hands still on her shoulders as she inspected Katsumi. "Oh thank god you're ok! Are you hurt anywhere? What did the villain do to you?" Rambled Mitsuki in rapid succession, worry evident in her voice.

Which only pissed off Bakugo. "Damn it you old hag! Get off me, I'm fine!" Yelled Bakugo as she forced Mitsuki to let go.

"You damn brat!" Yelled Mitsuki angrily, before smacking Katsumi over her head. But not hard enough to hurt. Her expression quickly fell, and her tone became gentler. "I'm your mother, it's my right to worry about you. And when I got a call from the police telling me you were attacked, I was scared, even when they told me you were rescued." She said gently, worry back in her voice.

This managed to cool Katsumi's temper. "Tch, You don't need to worry. I'm going to be the number one hero after all." She said more to assure her mother than out of pride.

To her surprise her mother chuckled. "You can be the number one hero in the entire universe, but as your mother, I will always worry about you." Said Mitsuki lovingly.

Hearing this actually made Katsumi happy, but she would never admit it. She sat down to take off her shoes. "Well despite it not being needed, some extra helped me." She said, her ego getting in the way of her admitting the whole truth.

Mitsuki smirked knowingly. "Which hero was it? I heard All Might defeated the villain, but wasn't the one who got you out of the villains grasps."

"Just some nobody." Said Katsumi dismissively as she stood up and grabbed her bag.

"Damn it brat. It doesn't matter if they're not popular or new. Which hero?" Said Mitsuki annoyed.

"It wasn't a hero. It was just some plain looking guy who looked like he is my age with green and black hair. I overheard that his name is Izuku or something stupid like that." She said as she started walking away. "Now I'm going to go and wash the stink of that fucking sludge creep off of me." She said, completely missing her mom's stunned reaction.

Mitsuki stood there, eyes wide as saucers. "Izuku?" She whispered to herself. Was it really that Izuku? The son of her ex best friend? The one who suffered so much because of her negligence? 'No. It couldn't be.' She thought. But the likelihood of another Izuku with that description was astronomical.

Mitsuki lumbered over to the living room in a daze and plopped onto the couch. She could deny it all she wants, but she knew it was him. She put her elbows on her knees and her face in her hands. It's ironic. She failed him, but he ends up saving her daughter. Multiple memories of Izuku zoomed through her head. Memories of holding him as a baby, of babysitting him, of playing hero with him and her daughter. Memories of patching up injuries her daughter inflicted on him, of being unable to stop her from tormenting him. But the worst one of all, of knowing Inko lied to her about him, and not doing anything to help.

Mitsuki let out a sigh as she ran a hand through her hair, sat back, and stared at the ceiling. She had to make it up to him. Somehow. She sat up and make her way to the kitchen to make dinner, her beating herself up wouldn't fill hers or her daughters bellies after all. 'I have to find him, and not just thank him, but apologize.' She thought.

*the next morning.*

*RING RING. RING RING. RING RING*

"Hello, this is the principle of U.A. speaking. What can I do for you on this fine morning All Might." Greeted Nezu in his usual cheery way after answering his office phone.

"Nezu." Replied All Might seriously. "I found the one."

"Oh that's wonderful!" Said Nezu know I exactly what she was talking about, but not letting on the slight disappointment in his voice. He had actually planned on trying to convince her to make Izuku her successor. He had shown the qualities and talents to make a fantastic hero. But he still believed Izuku will be one regardless. "And all before you started your teaching job here at U.A. I take it you're calling to ask for assistance in training them?" Asked Nezu.

"Not quiet." Said All Might nervously. "While the help would be appreciated, I haven't extended the offer yet."

This peaked Nezu's curiosity. "Oh, and may I ask why not?"

"I met them yesterday, and they showed the signs to be the perfect successor. But unfortunately I didn't get the chance to speak with them alone. And following him would have just been creepy." Stated All Might, earning a squeaky chuckle from Nezu.

"True enough. So you want me to find them?" Asked Nezu.

"Please. And I'm sorry but I don't have much to go on."

"Oh that's alright, I do so enjoy a challenge." Said dismissively. "What's their name?"

"Izuku Aizawa. He seemed to be close to Eraserhead, so maybe a cousin?" Said All Might. The Phone went silent for several seconds. "Nezu? You there?"

Nezu couldn't help the wide grin that spread across his face. 'Oh my, how interesting.' He thought. "Yes I am, and ironically enough, I know exactly who you're talking about. How exactly did you meet him?"

All Might told Nezu the story about everything that happened, not leaving out a single detail. Completely oblivious of Nezu's fury when she spoke about Izuku being choked by the sludge villain, though she did feel a chill run down her spine. She even spoke about Izuku seemingly not liking her. "I know there is a chance he'll decline. But I need to at least extend the offer."

"Quite right. But before I help you get into contact, let me ask you something. Are you willing to atone for your past mistakes to do this?" Asked Nezu, unusually serious.

All Might was confused, and worried by the implications. "What do you mean? Which mistakes?" She asked hesitantly.

"Are you, or aren't you?" Nezu replied simply.

All Might was silent, suddenly feeling unsure of her decision. But she thought back to the look in Izuku's eyes. His desire to protect people. How he acted before thinking. She firmly believed that One For All should go to him. "Yes. Whatever it takes." She said resolutely.

Nezu's smiled wide. "Good. I'll do what I can to set something up. Is there anything else you need?"

"No, that's i. Thank you."

"Of course." Replied Nezu before he hung up and sat back into his chair. He let out a chuckle. "You never fail to surpass expectations Izuku." He said aloud. Suddenly a dark and maniacal look crossed his face. "Now let's see about that sludge villain."


	12. Chapter 11: Mistakes

**A/N: God, a full month to write one chapter, I'm sorry everyone for the long wait, this chapter just didn't want to come to me. thank you everyone for your patience. I have recently gotten myself a beta-reader who helped me with this chapter, and I hope that they will help me get future chapters out faster.  
**

* * *

"No." Izuku mumbled in his sleep as he tossed and turned, drenched in sweat. "Stop. Don't! NO!" He screamed as he shot up. His instincts kicked in, and he slammed his hands over his mouth as his fear skyrocketed.

It wasn't long before his mom came into his room, looking like she just wanted to rush over to him, but restrained herself to not frighten him more. Izuku sat where he was, not moving a single muscle, afraid of the beating he believed would come if he did. He just sat there staring at Shoka, eyes full of fear, as she calmly got closer to him.

As she got to his bed she sat down and gently put a hand on his shoulder. It hurt any time she saw him in this state, and even more so when he jumped at her merely touching him. It tore her heart to pieces. But he was slowly improving. Just last week he was jumping away from her when she touched him, she was glad that progress was at least being made.

"Izuku, it's ok. It's not real." She said gently, as she brought her free hand to one of his arms and gently lowered it to show he didn't have to stay silent. He let his mom lower his hands from his mouth. His breathing started to slow down as the fear in his eyes transitioned into sadness. On seeing this Shoka brought him into a comforting hug, one he slowly returned after a couple seconds as he started crying into her shoulder.

Shoka gently rubbed his back with her right hand, while

the left was on the back of his head. "It's ok, you're safe. No one is going to hurt you." Said Shoka gently. She was a little confused when she felt him shake his head no.

"It... it wasn't that." Said Izuku quietly.

"Then what was it?" Shoka asked, concerned. But Izuku remained silent. Shoka released Izuku and cradled his face, making him look at her as she used her thumb to wipe away his tears. "Izuku I just want to help. I can't do that if I don't know what's going on." Said Shoka, voice filled with the concern and compassion only a mother could possess.

Izuku stayed silent for a couple seconds staring at his mom before looking down sullen. "It was the sludge villain." He replied.

"The one from a couple of days ago?" What about it?" Asked Shoka.

"I dreamt I was back there again when he held that girl hostage. Only when I tried to save her I got stopped by Death Arms, and no matter what I tried he wouldn't let me do anything. I watched as the life faded from that girl's eyes, while the villain just laughed. Then... then..." Said Izuku before he started to sob again.

Shoka grabbed and held his hands in hers, giving him a reassuring smile, giving him the strength to continue. "Then suddenly everyone was gone, just me and the Sludge villain. Or so I thought. Mei and Kinoko showed up. The villain just tossed the girls body, and grabbed the two of them. But instead of suffocating them, he just brutally killed them!" He said, starting to panic. He closed his eyes as the image of the villain tearing Mei in half at the waist and crushing Kinoko's head came back to him. Izuku started to hyperventilate as tears poured out of his eyes.

But Shoka wouldn't let him suffer. Izuku started to calm down as he felt her squeeze his hands reassuringly and gently cupped his cheek. "You don't have to continue if you don't want to." She said gently. Dream of not, she knows the pain of losing someone close to you before your very eyes. Her heart hurt knowing Izuku was suffering that pain.

Izuku on the other hand after calming down just couldn't stop, and continued to explain his nightmare. "Then more people kept showing up. Aunt Midnight, aunt Mic, Uncle Nezu, Mr. and Mrs. Hatsume, ...you. Everyone just kept showing up. And you were all murdered by the villain. And... and I... I couldn't move." Said Izuku as he gripped both of her hands tightly, not noticing Shoka wince in pain. But she didn't care about that, all she cared about was comforting her son. "I couldn't do anything at all! I wanted to stop him so bad. But I was useless." He said growing quieter as he spoke until it was just a whisper, before he started sobbing again as the memories of his dream flooded through him. The memories of watching everyone he's grown to care for get murdered before his very eyes.

Shoka enveloped Izuku into another hug, doing what she could to sooth him. They stayed that way for several minutes as Izuku cried and Shoka kept whispering things like "It's ok.", "I'm here.", And "Everyone is safe." Hoping to help ease his pain.

Izuku eventually managed to calm down, he peeled away but Shoka maintained contact. "I'm sorry." He said quietly as he looked down ashamed.

Shoka gave him a loving smile. 'Every time.' She thought. "You have nothing to be sorry for. Everyone has nightmares. And before you say you're a nuisance, you're not. I WANT to help, and I will be there for you every time."

Izuku quickly wrapped Shoka up in another hug, but this time not for comfort. "Thank you. I love you mom." He said quietly.

A lone tear appeared in Shoka's eye. She will never get tired of hearing that. "I love you too." She replied. After a few seconds they separated, and Shoka wiped the tear away. Looking over Izuku he still looked completely exhausted, yet he didn't look like he'd fall asleep any time soon. "You want to go watch some TV on the couch with me?" She asked while gesturing to his door with her head.

Izuku simply nodded his head yes in response before they headed to the living room. Shoka grabbed a blanket they kept in the living room and the remote, turning on the TV as she sat down next to Izuku. As soon as she got settled, he leaned up against her, something she knew he was going to do. As time went on, he's been craving more and more physical affection. Hound Dog told her that he was most likely excruciatingly touch starved, and probably made worse by the fact his quirk required physical contact. But she would never complain, she would cuddle with him all he wants. It's funny, she didn't use to be one for physical affection, but now she'd openly admit she enjoys it. To Izuku. Only to Izuku. She would never live it down if she said it to her friends and colleagues.

Shoka threw the blanket over the two of them before wrapping her arms around him, which Izuku instantly relaxed in the embrace.

On the TV it seems to be a rerun of the news from yesterday. This was a new news station. Seemed after the press conference Ishida Azumi got fired for unprofessionalism along with a few others. But they all started this new station about a week after, and it has been soaring in popularity for quite a few reasons. They don't tiptoe around sensitive subjects, they tell people nothing but the truth, including not glorifying everything a hero does, don't twist things around to make the story better, and Shoka's favorite part, they think about the consequences of their stories and care about the people on the other end of it. Which is why Shoka exclusively watches this station for news now. So she had seen the story they were about to report about next, and it's why she didn't immediately change the channel.

"Honestly it looks more like Mt. Lady blindsided that villain that was on the cusp of being defeated by Kamui Woods, and then used sex appeal to her advantage. Hopefully it's not going to be a trend in her career." Said Ishida, reporting on Mt. Lady's debut, and sounding unimpressed. Suddenly she looked excited. "In other news, yesterday afternoon there was a second major villain siting in Musutafu. A currently unnamed villain, whose quirk seemingly turns his body into sludge hijacked a convenience store. During his escape All Might herself appeared on scene and started to chase down said villain. At first, it was believed All Might easily apprehended the villain, but three hours later, the same villain was found to be holding third year secondary school student Bakugo Katsumi hostage." She reported, as an Image of Bakugo being held hostage with a picture of just Katsumi right next to it appeared on the screen next to Ishida.

Izuku's eyes went wide hearing the girl's name. "Kacchan?" He said quietly, barely loud enough for Shoka to hear, with a surprised look on his face.

"What was that?" Asked Shoka.

"I... I knew her. Back before I got my quirk." He said trying to hide the pain in his voice as he rubbed his chest, feeling some phantom pains.

Shoka's worry rose at his reaction. Quirkless people are treated horribly. Due to his original diagnosis, she could only imagine what she might have done to him. She wanted to ask about it, but due to his nightmare, now wasn't the time. So she settled with giving him a reassuring squeeze, which seemed to work as he seemed to relax a bit, and they both went back to watching the news.

"... and Death Arms stopped attempting to rescue Bakugo." Said Ishida, looking disgusted. "And their excuse was not having the right quirks? Sounds like these guys need to retake their hero classes." Suddenly her mood seemed to improve. "Thankfully there was a civilian in the area who was willing to do something to help, successfully rescuing Bakugo before All Might showed up to finish the villain off. We have obtained footage of the events from a bystander."

The screen shifted to shaky footage that started from Death Arms attacking the villain, all the way to a few seconds after All Might made it rain. "See? Everyone is safe thanks to you. You did good there, I'm proud of you." Said Shoka after the part where he pulled out Bakugo. Izuku looked up at her with a loving smile and turned around to give her a hug, which Shoka returned as the story continued.

"Due to certain circumstances, we will not be releasing the identity of the rescuer for his safety. But we are happy to say that despite not having a hero license, he was not arrested, and was let off with a warning. I for one, hope he becomes a hero. Not only did he look awesome, he showed a great deal of courage and selflessness." Said Ishida with obvious sincerity, before continuing to talk about All Might.

Izuku and Shoka let go and got back into the position they were in. "Seems you have a fan." Said Shoka, earning a chuckle from Izuku.

"I admit, it feels nice. But I was just doing what I felt was right." Replied Izuku.

Shoka felt pride well up inside her. Here was a boy who had every reason to hate the world, but wants to save it instead. He was going to be an amazing hero, she just knew it. And she will happily help him every step of the way.

After the news was done reporting the story, Shoka changed channels to something she knew Izuku enjoyed. It didn't take long for Izuku to fall asleep, but by the time he did Shoka was too tired to carry him to bed. So she opted to just turn off the TV, and sleep on the couch while happily holding her son.

* * *

*A few hours later.*

Shoka was slowly roused from her sleep as she heard what sounded like clicking. At first, she was confused by the weight she felt on her, before remembering the events of last night. She slowly opened her eyes, getting adjusted to the light. When her eyes were finally focused, she saw Present Mic and Midnight, both holding their phone out in front of them.

"You're taking pictures aren't you?" Asked Shoka annoyed.

"Of course." Replied Present Mic as more clicks were heard from her phone.

"You expect us not to immortalize such an adorable sight?" Asked Midnight.

Shoka was about to instinctively threaten them to delete the photos before remembering what exactly they were taking pictures of. She looked down at Izuku and smiled as she saw him sleeping peacefully. She looked at the two with a slight annoyed glare, before sighing. "You better send me those." She grumbled, with a light blush of embarrassment.

Present Mic and Midnight both giggled as they put their phones away. "Of course." Replied Present Mic.

"What are you two doing here anyways?" Asked Shoka.

"Nezu wanted us to make sure you're both prepared for the meeting." Replied Midnight, as a frown crossed her and Present Mic's face. Shoka sighed sadly before checking the clock. It was 8 AM on a Sunday, a couple of hours before she and Izuku had a meeting with HER.

Shoka got off the couch, careful to not wake him quite yet. "Come on, let's make breakfast real quick while he gets some more sleep." She said as she made her way to the kitchen, as the two followed.

"So I take it you two are on the couch because he had another nightmare?" Asked Midnight, as she started helping get things ready.

"Unfortunately. He dreamt about us, his friends, and everyone who's cared for him dying in front of him." Replied Shoka dejected.

"Those are always horrible." Replied Present Might solemnly. "Do you think we should call Nezu to cancel the meeting."

"I don't know." Sighed Shoka. "We should probably leave that up to him."

"I guess you're right." Replied Present Mic before she looked through the hatch at the still sleeping Izuku. "I'm just worried. This wasn't going to be an easy meeting from the start."

Shoka slowly nodded her head as she remembered her and Izuku's discussion with Nezu. He came over to talk to the two of them. He told them that All Might wanted to meet with Izuku to discuss something important. Izuku was obviously uncomfortable with the idea. But Nezu assured him that he didn't have to, and if he accepted he could leave at any time. Izuku remained silent for a few minutes, looking thoughtful. Shoka was worried, but waited for his reply. She doesn't know what went through his head, but he accepted. And while he was given the choice of when, he chose to do it today. The look in his eyes showed the same determination and fierceness as the when he first stepped in to protect Mei.

"That's true. But he's tough, I doubt he will back down." Said Shoka in a confident and caring tone. "So let's make him a good breakfast to help him out."

* * *

*later*

Shoka and Izuku were on their way to Nezu's office to speak with All Might, neither of them even saying a word. Izuku was conflicted. He truly wanted to just cancel the meeting and not have anything to do with her, but he felt this was something he needed to do. He needs answers.

Shoka was keeping an eye on Izuku the entire walk, she couldn't help but worry. She doesn't know the extent of what All Might said to Tsukauchi, or even how Izuku heard it, she only knew it wasn't good. But she does know that if All Might would have convinced her to stop the investigation, Izuku would have stayed in Murisaki's hands. And Murisaki would still be on the loose.

The two made it to Nezu's office door, and stood there. Izuku just stared at the door while Shoka watched him. Eventually after a few minutes of standing there, Shoka put her hand on his shoulder. His mind seemed to have been elsewhere because he jumped when she touched him. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." Said Shoka apologetically.

Izuku shook his head. "You don't have to apologize. I was just lost in thought."

"What were you thinking about." She asked.

Izuku clenched his fists. "Just…. remembering." He replied, a chill to his tone.

"You know you don't have to do this?" Asked Shoka concerned.

Izuku looked at the doorknob. "Yes I do." He replied before opening the door and entering, Shoka right behind him.

As they walked in they noticed Nezu sitting at his desk, with All Might standing next to his desk. "Ah welcome, I'm happy to see you came. Come, take a seat." Said Nezu in his usual chipper tone with some pride mixed in. Izuku and Shoka sat in the two chairs in front of Nezu's desk, with Izuku sitting away from All Might.

"**I'm glad you could make it, and that we could talk so soon.**" Said All Might, oblivious to Izuku's cold demeanor.

"Would either of you like some tea?" Asked Nezu.

"No, thank you." Replied Shoka.

"No. Could we... could we just get to why we're here?" Asked Izuku, trying not to direct his negative feelings towards All Might at Nezu.

"Why of course! All Might?" Replies Nezu, directing the attention towards her.

"**Erm, while it's good to see you Eraserhead, this is a fairly sensitive matter. Could we just talk to Izuku in private.**" Asked All Might, a little nervous.

"I'm not leaving unless Izuku wants me too." Replied Shoka with finality.

"And I don't want mom to leave." Said Izuku coldly.

All Might nearly spat out blood and lost hold of her muscle form hearing that. "**Wait! Mom? I didn't know you were a mother Eraserhead.**" Said All Might dumbfounded. For some reason she felt the room instantly drop a couple of degrees.

"What do you want All Might?" Asked Izuku curtly. His anger and pain from All Might seemingly not even remembering who he is, overriding any fear or panic he would experience from acting this way. It also helped that Nezu and his mom didn't seem upset by him either, they were just watching All Might, waiting for her response.

"**Er, well...**" said All Might fumbling with her words. She didn't know what to do, she truly didn't want to reveal what she believes to be such a monumental secret to Eraserhead. True Nezu says she can be trusted, but she didn't know. Looking at Izuku, memories of what he did a couple of days ago flooded through her mind. She remembered his courage, his selflessness, and what he said that day, about moving before he even thought. She sighed, coming to terms that if she wanted the chance to make Izuku her successor, she had to bring in Eraserhead too.

Both Shoka's and Izuku's eyes went wide as a huge burst of steam shot from All Might, and when it cleared, a very skinny version of her was standing there. "What the hell! Who are you?!" Yelled Shoka, before turning to Nezu, noticing he is unaffected by all this. "I thought you said we were meeting All Might?!"

"And you are." Replied Nezu.

"I assure you I am All Might. But my real name is Yagi Toshino, and I ask that you call me Toshino when I am in this form." She then proceeded to lift her shirt, showing her gnarly scar. She went on to explain about her being injured five years ago, and how her ability to maintain her muscle form is dwindling.

The two of them listened intently. Shoka was shocked that someone was able to hurt All Might this badly. She may not like her, but she still knows that her power was off the charts.

Izuku didn't know what to think. A small part of him couldn't help but think she deserved it. But a much much larger part felt sorry for her, he knew the pain of losing the life you knew.

"Why are you telling us all this?" Izuku couldn't help but ask.

"Because due to my ever shortening time limit, I need to find a successor to my quirk. And I want you to be that successor." Replied All Might in a serious tone.

Shoka and Izuku looked at All Might like she grew a second head. "What do you mean successor to your quirk?" Asked Izuku.

"My quirk isn't a normal quirk. It is called One for All. It is a quirk that can be transferred, and stockpiles power as it transfers from person to person. I am the eighth wielder of this awesome power. And after seeing that you possess the heart of a true hero, I want to pass the torch onto you young Aizawa." Said All Might somewhat theatrically.

Izuku couldn't help but stare with wide eyes. All Might wants to give him her quirk. A quirk with such tremendous power. Izuku looked down at his hands. 'A quirk that isn't villainous.' He thought. Suddenly the memories of what he heard All Might say to Tsukauchi ran through his head again. "Are you sure you want to give your quirk to a villain?" Said Izuku with a hollow voice.

Shoka's head snapped from All Might to Izuku in an instant, surprisingly not getting whiplash in the process. Shoka wanted to say something, tell him he wasn't a villain. But in the corner of her eye she noticed Nezu shaking his head no at her.

"Wh-What?" Asked All Might completely lost.

"That's what you called me wasn't it?" Asked Izuku not even looking up.

Knowing what he was referring to, fury rose through Shoka like a rocket. She found herself wanting to tear off the head of the number one hero. Even Nezu was feeling anger rise up inside him, and he knew about what All Might said. But hearing Izuku say it was triggering his protective instincts.

"N-NO! I never said that! I said you had the heart of a true hero!" Yelled All Might frantically.

"Five years ago." Voice still hollow. All Might didn't know how to respond, and upon hearing nothing but silence, Izuku decided to speak again. "Does the name Izuku Midoriya ring a bell?" Asked Izuku.

"Izuku Mi...dor..I...ya?" Repeated All Might, at first confused before it slowly donned on her as her eyes went wide.

Suddenly Izuku shot up from his seat, knocking it to the floor. He glared at All Might, though with tears in his eyes. All Might took a step back from him in fear, instinctively raising her hands in front of her to placate Izuku. "That's right, my birth name is Izuku Midoriya! I'm the kid you tried to have left in the hands of a villain without even so much as a glance into the situation!" Yelled Izuku.

All Might didn't know how to respond. She wanted to calm him down, but every time she opened her mouth, nothing would come out. And seeing this only seemed to upset Izuku more.

"What got nothing to say?! Can't even admit to your own guilt?! Do you even feel bad about what you said?!" Screamed Izuku.

"Of course I do! It's one of my biggest regrets!" Said All Might desperately.

"Then how come you never even apologized!? Why is it that even after Murisaki's guilt was proven, you did nothing to help!?" Yelled Izuku, tears pouring out of his eyes. Pain, anger, sadness, and frustration, all flooding through and overwhelming Izuku.

"Well... I..." fumbled All Might.

"That's what I thought." Said Izuku, voice hollow, as shadows covered his eyes and tears streamed down his cheeks. Izuku couldn't handle it anymore as he turned and ran out of the office instinctively using his quirk in his legs to run faster, and slamming the door behind him.

"Izuku!" Yelled Shoka, her worry for her son outweighing her anger at All Might as she quickly ran after him.

All Might stood there wide-eyed for a few seconds before flopping into the nearby empty chair with her head in her hands. "So that's what you meant by past sins." Said All Might.

"Yup." Said Nezu simply. All traces of his usual chipper attitude gone.

"Why didn't you tell me when I called?" Asked All Might.

"And what would you have done if I did? Would you have avoided this conversation? Ignored and forgotten about Izuku and looked for a different successor?" Asked Nezu.

All Might opened her mouth about to say 'of course not.' Before closing it again, looking down dejected. That's what she's done these past five years hasn't she? "What can I do to fix this?" Asked All Might.

"Do you know what one of MY biggest regrets is?" Asked Nezu.

All Might looked at Nezu confused. "No?"

"I regret not checking in with Izuku after he was put in a new foster home. He was horribly abused there too you know." Said Nezu, making All Night's eyes go wide. "It's true, and he even nearly died because of it. I helped with the Murisaki case a bit, and even after hearing about the atrocities he had gone through, I was complacent and believed the same system that let him down would take care of him. And it nearly cost that poor child his life. But you know what I did after I found out how wrong I was?" Asked Nezu. All Might shook her head no in response. "I apologized. One of the first things I said to him was 'I'm sorry' and I have done everything I can to make up for my lapse in judgment since."

All Might mulled over Nezu's words. It was obvious what Nezu was trying to tell her. Why hadn't she apologized much soon? Was it because she was too ashamed to face her own mistakes? Regardless, she needs to do what's right. She stood up from her seat. "I need to go find him." She said before buffing up.

"Hold on. You might want to give him some time to cool off first." Said Nezu.

"But I..." started All Might.

"In the mindset Izuku is in right now, do you think he would even listen to your apology?" Asked Nezu.

All Might stayed silent for a couple seconds before she transformed back to her true form. "I guess you're right." She said dejected. "Can you call me when I can apologize?"

Nezu's smile returned, and gestured to the seat. "If you want to apologize as soon as possible, take a seat. Knowing Izuku it won't take too long." All Might nodded her head and went to sit down. "And could you pick up the other chair?"

* * *

*45 minutes later*

Izuku was panting hard. After running from Nezu's office he heard his mom yell after him, but he didn't stop. He didn't know if his mom tried to use her quirk to slow him down, because he turned a corner shortly after she called him. He didn't want her to see him like this, he didn't want to see the disappointment he knew she felt at him losing his temper like that.

Izuku just couldn't take it anymore. The memories of that day just kept playing on loop through his head over and over again. Even now he can't stop remembering it. And when he confronted her about it, she claims she regrets it, but still didn't apologize. He felt like she was just trying to say that, so she could have a powerful successor. To use his quirk just like Murisaki had all those years ago to feel good about herself. If she didn't change her mind, that is.

He didn't know where he was running to, he just let his feet carry him as he ran, tears streaming down his face as he did. By the time he stopped he had used just over 400 attar, and was down to 327. But when he finally did stop he was just outside of training ground gamma. The same place his mom, aunt, and Nejire has been helping train him, Mei, and Kinoko. He didn't know why he ran here, maybe because it holds happy memories for him, but he didn't want to risk going home where his mom would easily find him? What he did know was that he was still angry. Still, so much rage inside him that even he didn't know he possessed.

Maybe it was all the years of torment finally catching up to him, and it was just lashing out at the first person that he was already mad at. Or maybe what she said that day hurt him far more than he knew. Regardless, he felt the need to vent, so he walked inside the training ground and started training. Only there was a problem. With those memories flooding through him, he couldn't use his usual trick to keep his quirk under control. And he already had the problem of it didn't work all the time already. Now it was just like that first day of training. Only worse.

He may not have burned his remaining attar by activating his beam, or even have been unable to get the energy flowing. But the flow was so chaotic, that it was even more dangerous. He had already exploded 4 of his blasts in his hands, burning them to just on the edge of 3rd degree burns, but was still only 2nd. He tried using his quirk to amplify his strength, but it wouldn't go through the entire muscle, causing some of them to strain badly. There is even a chance that a couple of them were ripped. He even tried summoning his wings just to try a few seconds of flying, but he was only able to get one started, and when it was halfway, the bottom half stopped coming out, making the top half rip his wing. He instantly retracted it, not sure if he had a cut on his back now or not. But his back did hurt.

He was in tremendous pain, his whole body felt like it was on fire. But he didn't care. Heck, he's already been through worse many times. And in all honesty, he welcomes the pain. To him the pain has become akin to breathing. He had been in pain for so long, he felt weird when he wasn't hurting anymore. The pain was helping calm him down, it was bringing back his highly submissive self. But he still felt so angry.

"Why!? Why do I feel so angry!? I've been called a villain so many times! So why did her calling me a villain make me so mad!" Yelled Izuku to the heavens before falling to his knees sobbing, as the memory played through his head for what felt like the millionth time today.

* * *

*flashback*

Izuku was sitting in the children's room in the police station. It had been five days since Tsukauchi had taken his case, and in that time he had barely ever left this room. He had been told that this room was usually only for temporary use. But since he obviously couldn't go home, combined with his fear of living with anyone else they allowed him to stay here. It only calmed him down slightly.

He was honestly afraid of the police, his experience with them hasn't ever been pleasant. Before Tsukauchi, it was generally cops getting annoyed with him, or even yelling at him for "lying" about Murisaki. He even still sees some officers sneer at him when he leaves the room to use the bathroom. Those weren't the ones that terrified him the most though. He was used to people acting that way towards him. No, the ones that scared him the most were the nice ones. Those are usually the people that were Murisaki's friends. And they were only nice until they were in a private place. That's when the pain started. He's even met a couple officers that were Murisaki's friends a few times over the years, and one that said he was a lieutenant. So the ones who were nice to him now absolutely scared him.

Thankfully nothing happens, and they have limited their contact to giving him food and drinks. Some have even given him a few toys to play with while he's here. Other than that it was Tsukauchi asking him questions. Oh, and a man who said he was a therapist who asked him questions, but he never answered his. He couldn't help it, he was just too scared, thinking the man would hurt him.

Izuku was sitting in the seat at a table, reading a book that Tsukauchi gave him to read. He hadn't seen anyone in a little while, and he was feeling thirsty. Tsukauchi said it was ok for him to ask for things, right? He won't get in trouble? He slid out of the seat and made his way to the room that Tsukauchi said was her office and was where she could usually be found whenever she's here, trying to be as unnoticeable as possible, and ignoring the sneers and glares some officers were sending his way as he went.

As he made it to her office he noticed the door was slightly cracked, but before he could enter, he heard Tsukauchi speak. "I'm sorry All Might, I'm busy with an important case."

All Might!? She was here? Izuku remembered seeing some of her interviews. One in particular stood out to him. One where she said "It doesn't matter the size of the case, big or small, everyone deserves justice. Deserves to be safe and happy." So maybe she would help with Murisaki. It's true he hasn't had any good experiences with heroes in the past, but she was number one. So she had to be good, right? Izuku knew he shouldn't eavesdrop, but he just hoped to hear that she would help.

"**Really? I haven't heard you were working on anything. What's it about?**" He heard All Might ask.

"Yeah, people think I'm crazy for taking this case, but just hearing what the victim has gone through makes me sick to my stomach." Replied Tsukauchi.

"**What happened**?" Asked All Might sounding concerned.

"It's Murisaki. He..." started Tsukauchi, before All Might started yelling.

"**MURISAKI?! UKON MURISAKI?! What happened?! Who hurt him?! Why don't you have more help?!**" Yelled All Might.

"No All Might, he's not the victim. He's the assailant." Spoke Tsukauchi seriously.

There were a couple seconds of silence before All night started laughing. "**Hahahah! That's a good one. You almost had me.**"

"I'm serious." Said Tsukauchi deadpan.

"**Really? Was it self-defense? I wouldn't be surprised if a villain attacked him.**" Stated All Might.

Tsukauchi sighed. "No, it was for his sick pleasure." She said, sounding disgusted.

"**You really expect me to believe that THE Ukon Murisaki, did something horrible to someone for kicks?**" Asked All Might incredulously.

"Yes! To a child no less, and it's been happening for years!" Said Tsukauchi, sounding like she's getting upset.

"**Show me the file.**" Said All Might, still sounding skeptical. There for a couple of minutes, only the sound of shifting paper could be heard before All Might spoke again. "**Seriously? You believe this kid?**" Said All Might. Izuku felt his heart drop. The number one hero was against him too?

"Yes I believe him! Not only does my quirk tell me he's telling the truth, the look in his eyes alone tells you everything! The pain, the sadness, the fear, he is drowning in it!" Said Tsukauchi, getting angry with her friend.

"**All that can be faked. According to the file, he has been reporting this story for years. It's obvious he's fallen for his own lie.**" Said All Might incredulously.

"And in that same file you'll find that not ONE officer investigated the report. We're supposed to verify every claim, but the moment Murisaki's name is even brought up, everyone just says Midoriya is lying to get attention." Said Tsukauchi, doing her best to not yell at her friend.

"**Because it's Murisaki! This is the guy who donates to hero and children's hospitals. He donates to multiple charities, and even runs a few himself AND several non-profits. He helps get laws passed to assist people in need. Murisaki even runs the largest foster home in japan, and puts away the entire child fund to give to the parents who adopt each kid! His generosity and kindness has gotten 2 schools, 3 parks, and a hospital named after him. He does so much for people, he is pretty much considered a saint. There is no way he would do what this kid is claiming.**" Argued All Might.

"You know for a fact that there have been many known cases of people like Murisaki who have done horrible things behind closed doors." Argued Tsukauchi, anger rising up in her.

"**None of them did nearly as much as Murisaki, and were only a fraction as well known. There is no way that if he was doing this kind of thing that no one would have found out by now.**" Claimed All Might.

"And if what Izuku says his quirk actually is, then that would explain how he has gotten away with it for so long." Said Tsukauchi.

"**Clearly just another lie he made up. This kid has a history of quirk misuse, aggression, and lying. I can't believe someone like you has fallen for the lies of a villain in the making. You should quit now before you ruin your career." Said All Might harshly. Izuku's breath hitched. There it was, another person calling hi**m a villain. But this wasn't just anyone. This was All Might, the greatest hero to ever live. He was foolish for hoping that she would help him. Foolish for thinking that any hero would ever see him as anything but a villain. And what's worse, she's trying to tell the one person who believes him to stop helping him.

He distinctly heard Tsukauchi yelling something, but he didn't pay attention to what she was saying as he stood there for a bit, tears pouring out of his eyes. He didn't know at the time that even though he had long ago mastered crying quietly, his sniffling could be heard inside Tsukauchi's office. Izuku didn't know they heard him until he started running back to the children's room, and he heard the door to Tsukauchi's office open up, and she called after him. But he just continued to run.

When he made it back he slowly walked over and laid down on the cot they provided for him, and curled up, letting his tears flow freely. Not that he could stop them if he wanted to. He didn't know how long he laid there before Tsukauchi came in to comfort him. At first, he just thought she was going to tell him she changed her mind, and was dropping the whole case. But was instead surprised by her telling him that All Might is just being a huge idiot and that she is going to prove Murisaki's guilt.

*flashback ends*

He remembers hugging her after she told him that, and she continued comforting him. It wasn't the first time they embraced during that time, or even the last. But it was one of the more memorable ones, because for the first time in years, he felt someone was completely on his side. It was only beat out by the hug they shared when she told him she had proof of what Murisaki was doing. That he was going to be put away, and he would be put with a new guardian.

(A/N *Bangs head on a table many, many times.*)

Izuku shakily got back onto his feet ready to continue training when he heard the door open. "Izuku! There you are!" Izuku quickly turned around, surprised at who found him. He was expecting if anyone found him, it would be his mom or aunts. Instead, he found it was Nejire.

Nejire wasted no time in using her quirk to help her rush over to Izuku, but she stopped when she got close enough to get a good look at him. His breathing was staggered, and he looked like he was barely standing. But what's worse is how bad he is shaking. "Izuku, you're hurt."

Izuku turned away from her. "I'm fine." He said, his voice hollow. "What are you doing here anyways?"

"I came here looking for you!" Nejire said worried, regaining Izuku's attention. "Your mom called saying you ran off from a meeting you had with All Might. She sounded worried, and so am I." She said, getting quieter as she spoke. Nejire started walking up to Izuku. "Come on, we need to get you to Recovery Girl."

"I said I'm fine." Said Izuku with a bit of annoyance in his voice, but it quickly went away as he looked down somberly. "I deserve it anyways."

Nejire stopped just a couple feet from Izuku. "What do you deserve?" Izuku stayed silent. "What do you deserve!?"

"To hurt." He replied calmly.

"Why would you think that you deserve to hurt?!" Nejire screamed, tears forming in her eyes.

"Because I'm a villain! And villains need to be beaten and suppressed!" Yelled Izuku, as his head snapped back to Nejire. The emotional pain is clear in his expression.

"Izuku, you are not a villain!" Screamed Nejire as the tears started pouring out of her eyes.

"And what do you know!? You barely even know me!" Yelled Izuku.

"That's where you're wrong Izuku Midoriya." Replied Nejire calmly.

Izuku's eyes widened in shock. "How?..." was all he was able to say before his voice died in this throat.

"I was curious. My home room teacher calls in a substitute for a full week after winter break? And then I come to find out the rumors of her adopting someone turned out to be true? It wasn't hard to figure out, since you were in the news about the same time she came back. But what I found out was horrifying." Spoke Nejire gently, as tears continued to fall from her eyes.

"So you were just keeping an eye on me then?" Izuku said solemnly as if he was stating a fact.

"You want to know what I found out? I found out that the person who your birth mom gave you to, what a demon disguised as a saint. To a beast so evil, his actions rivaled even some of the worst villains." Said Nejire. Izuku looked away from her solemnly. He couldn't help but be scared about where she was going with this.

"I also found you tried to report him over a hundred times, and no one believed you. No one came to help you. Instead, they all called you a villain. And when someone finally helped, they tried to stop her. Then when Murisaki was caught, he blamed you for his actions, and so many people believed him. But thankfully he was sentenced to, and is still on, death row. I also know that it wasn't the end of your suffering. You were left in a new foster home that beat you, neglected you, and nearly killed you. Yet no one helped, or worse, they participated." Spoke Nejire. Sounding like she had to use every ounce of strength to not break down. She closed the distance between the two and cupped his cheek, and was saddened when he flinched at her touch. She gently encouraged him to look at her, and gave him a caring smile. "Most of all, I know that you are a kind and caring person who would protect anyone in need. That you are by no means a villain. And that you will one day prove to the world that you are in fact a hero."

Tears started falling out of Izuku's eyes as he raised his hand to grab hold of the one Nejire was holding his cheek with. He didn't know why, but Nejire knowing his past felt like a weight lifted off his shoulders. He wasn't ready to tell anyone else, but it felt good knowing she was on his side despite knowing who he is. "Thank you." He spoke quietly.

"Now what happened?" Asked Nejire. "I know that being called a villain by so many people for so long can get to you, but something tells me there's more to it than that."

Izuku proceeded to tell Nejire the story of the conversation he overheard, and his interactions with All Might over the last couple days. But he told her All Might offered to train him. Even if he's upset with her, he's not going to just go announcing her secret to everyone. He spoke with such emotion and clarity that Nejire could practically see the events through his eyes, telling her that it was something that caused him a great deal of pain. While he spoke she guided him to a bench before he keeled over, but never let go of his hand. When he was done, she wanted to express her sympathies, but knew that's not what he needed right now. "So why did what All Might said hurt so much? Don't get me wrong, what she said was horrible and completely wrong. But from what I gather it wasn't the first time someone said something similar." Asked Nejire worried.

"Because she was the number one hero, she said so many times that she wants to rescue everyone in danger. Yet I wasn't even worth her attention." Said Izuku downcast.

Nejire felt there was more to it than that. "Was All Might your favorite hero?"

Izuku nodded his head. "She was even the one who inspired me to be a hero. Before I got my quirk, I watched the video of her debut every day. I wanted to be just like her and save people with a smile on my face." Said Izuku.

"Could that be why it hurt so much?" Asked Nejire.

Izuku was about to tell her no before he stopped and thought about it. He used to hold her in such high regards, so much so that he wanted to be just like her. He used to believe without a doubt that if he could tell her his plight, that she would save him. And if she thought he was a villain...

"That made you have to either lose faith in your idol, or believe you're a villain?" Asked Nejire, finishing his thoughts. Which made him quickly realize that he was mumbling, a habit he thought he got rid of in his time with Chiaki.

Though instead of fearing a beating, he just looked at his shaking hands. "Maybe I did both?" He said somberly.

"So what made you start getting angry at her?" Asked Nejire.

"I think I've always been angry. The things I've been through, it just didn't seem fair. And when I finally got help, my idol of all people tried to stop them. In my head, I knew that she was doing wrong by me. And her not even apologizing just felt like she was one of the people still on Murisaki's side." Said Izuku sullen.

Nejire places her other hand over his. "I'm not going to say that I know how much it hurt, because I can only imagine it. But I think you should accept All Might's offer."

"But how can I forgive someone who actively tried to stop the investigation!? Someone who didn't care enough to even talk to me and look into the claim!?" Asked Izuku despondent.

"I never said to forgive her." Said Nejire, getting a confused look from Izuku. "Why do you think All Might is number one?"

Izuku gave it some thought. "Because she's the best at rescuing people, and making them feel safe." Answered Izuku.

"And has that changed these last five years?" Asked Nejire. Izuku simply shook his head no. "Exactly. She is very skilled at being a hero, despite her doing something bad. And you don't have to like someone to learn from them." Advised Nejire. "Do you think you can put your anger to the side long enough to learn from her?"

Izuku mulled over her words. She wasn't wrong. Heck Endeavor is an absolutely terrible person, yet is number two because he is extremely skilled. When it comes down to it, he is being offered the chance to be an even better hero. The chance to save even more people. Is he really going to throw that away because he hates the person he's going to help him get there?

Nejire couldn't help but smile as she saw Izuku's expression turn from thoughtful to determined before he nodded his head. "You're right. I can do this." He said determined, shooting to his feet as he did so. But that was the wrong thing to do as his vision went blurry, head went light, and legs felt like jello.

Thankfully Nejire was quick to act and helped him steady himself before he crashed to the ground. She was completely oblivious to the fact that she was pressing her double d's into his arm. Something Izuku was acutely aware of, as he started blushing up a storm. "Th-th-thanks." He stuttered out.

Nejire gave him a bright smile. "Of course. If you ever need help, don't be afraid to ask. Now let's get you to Recovery Girl." She said happily, as she pulled his arm over her shoulder, helping him walk.

After reaching Recovery Girls office, Izuku got a grandmotherly kind of scolding from her. Telling him how his mother contacted her, saying that he ran off and had them all worried sick. It did remind Nejire to text her that she found him.

Just as Recovery Girl finished treating him the door slammed open. Right as Izuku turned to see who it was, his mom enveloped him in a hug. "You had me worried sick."

Izuku teared up, and returned the embrace. "I'm sorry." He said quietly.

Shoka pulled away, putting her hands on his shoulders and giving him a reassuring smile. "No, I'm sorry. I should have asked what happened between you and All Might."

Izuku shook his head. "No I should have been upfront about it."

Recovery Girl sighed exasperated, already seeing where this was going to go. She gently but firmly bonked both of them on the head with her cane. "You're both sorry, now just communicate better in the future." Said Recovery Girl. Nejire couldn't help but giggle at the sight.

Shoka and Izuku were both rubbing the spot Recovery Girl struck. It wasn't hard but it still hurt. "Ok, we will granny." Said Izuku with a heartwarming smile.

Recovery Girl returned the smile. "Good, now take it easy for the rest of the day, and come see me for a followup tomorrow." Ordered Recovery Girl, getting an affirmative nod from Izuku.

Shoka turned to Nejire, giving a thankful smile. It was still weird to Nejire to see this side of her. "Thank you so much for finding him."

"It's no problem. I'm happy to help. But I think Izuku has something to tell you." Said Nejire happily.

Shoka turned to Izuku expectantly, with an edge of worry. "Really? What is it?"

Izuku gave her a determined look, one that made the others so proud. "I've decided to accept All Might's offer." He stated.

Shoka was actually surprised by this. Just an hour ago he was running away from All Might absolutely pissed at her. And rightfully so in her opinion "Are you sure?" She asked worriedly.

"Yes. I want to become the best hero I can be, and save as many people as possible. And if that means putting my personal feelings aside, then so be it." Stated Izuku resolute.

Shoka felt pride well up inside her, but was now worried about something else. "Just don't push yourself too much, you matter too." Said Shoka lovingly.

"And if you ever need help in any way, don't be afraid to ask." Chimed in Nejire.

"And don't go hiding it if you're hurting." Added Recovery Girl.

Izuku could feel the immense love in the room, and it made him feel warm inside. "Of course." He said while nodding his head.

Suddenly the door burst open again, and before he could react, Izuku was glomped by his aunt Mic, and aunt Midnight. They were hugging him tight, while crying and blubbering about being worried about him. Izuku would normally appreciate the love and affection if it wasn't for one problem.

Recovery Girl hit both Mic and Midnight hard on their heads with her cane. "Gosh dang it! Let the boy breath!" She yelled at the two.

The two quickly released their hold on him, and started apologizing.

"*Cough* *cough* It's ok. How did you know I was here?" Asked Izuku as he rubbed his now sore throat.

"Your mom told us you were found and were here." Said Midnight sheepishly.

Izuku gave his mom a questioning look. "Who else did you ask for help finding me?"

"The rest of the UA staff." Shoka replies offhandedly.

"And might I add, those that I saw looked really worried. You've only recently started meeting our co-workers, and they already have a soft spot for you." Said Present Mic with a bit of a teasing smile. "So don't be surprised if they check up on you later."

Izuku couldn't help but smile thoughtfully. He felt such an abundance of love. Far more love than he ever believed he'd receive. "I look forward to it." He said without thinking, getting smiles from everyone. "But for now I've got someone I need to talk to." He said as he stood up.

"Do you need me to come with?" Asked Shoka.

Izuku shook his head. "No, I got this. But thank you." He said gratefully. He took a few steps towards the door before stopping in his tracks. "Oh, right." He said quietly to himself before quickly closing the distance between him and Nejire, and surprising her with a hug. Though her surprise faded fast, as she happily returned the embrace. "Thank you for helping me again."

"Any time." She replied happily.

Izuku pulled away from the hug and was blushing up a storm as he started poking his index fingers together. "And feel free to say no, but would you like to hang out sometime? Maybe after I finish talking with All Might?" He asked nervously.

Nejire couldn't help but giggle and find him to be super adorable. "I'd love to, I'll see you soon." She replied, giving him a warm smile.

Izuku smiled wide and gave her a firm nod, then left Recovery Girl's office. It was time to take the next step to becoming a great hero.


End file.
